It's Therapeutic
by InYourNightmares
Summary: Alexis Gray is determined to be just like Annalise Keating. But she may soon realize that sometimes, things aren't as simple as doing your best and reaping the rewards. There are other factors involved. Lust. Scandals. Murder. And Asher Millstone's irresistible abs are not making things any easier. Asher/OC. Follows series.
1. Pilot

**A/N – PLEASE READ.**

**This is not the same story as before. I have revamped it entirely, and the characters are different. If you're interested in knowing why I've decided to change the entire thing, you can read that after the chapter. **

**For now, this is strictly an Asher/OC. I will be following the episodes but I don't mention every detail of the story explicitly because that's boring and I presume everybody's watched the episodes. It's OC-centric and it's not a typical romance because Asher isn't a typical character. I'm trying as much as I can to keep him in character, but if you feel he's going OOC, do let me know. **

**I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the whole Asher/Bonnie thing. When the time comes, I may choose to diverge from canon there, or I might find a way to include it. But for now, I hope you enjoy. I may not update regularly, but I have a lot of plans for this story. **

**Episode 1**

"Lexi, would you please relax?" Connor Walsh asked the girl sitting beside him. She frowned and stopped bouncing her leg against the floor. "Your fidgeting is shaking my whole desk. Why are you on edge anyway?"

Lexi shrugged, taking a deep breath and running her fingers through the messy strands of dark hair that fell onto her face. "Sorry. I'm just nervous. It's Annalise Keating! But of course, _you _wouldn't understand that, Mr. I'm-always-calm-and-collected," she replied. Leaning in closer to him, she lowered her voice. "Did you hear that guy over there? He said he spent his summer interning for Chief Justice Roberts! How do we compete with that?"

Connor rolled his eyes. "That guy? Please. He's got to be lying. If you want to feel better about yourself, take a look at the lanky kid in the middle. He has _no _idea what he just walked into."

Lexi turned to look at a tall, thin boy with skin the colour of chocolate. He was looking around the classroom blankly. He seemed completely clueless and Lexi felt a surge of pity for him. At least she was in a better position than him. Her attention, however, was diverted sharply when the legend herself entered the room.

"It's her," Lexi whispered excitedly, her eyes fixed on Annalise.

And hence began Criminal Law 100. Or, as Professor Keating liked to call it, How To Get Away With Murder.

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"Okay, staking out the competition," Connor muttered, as they exited the classroom. "That's the only way we are going to survive in Keating's class. So far, we've got Miss Preppy in the front row and the cocky dude in the ugly yellow shirt. I'd include the girl who answered for the clueless kid, but I think she's in Keating's bad books already."

Lexi smiled. Now that the initial class was over, her nerves were starting to cool. Besides, Connor's confidence always made her feel a lot more sure of herself. Ever since they'd been kids, they'd _always _worked together to stake out the competition. And it always worked. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and replied quietly. "Agreed. You take the preppy girl, she looks like a real bitch. I'll take Mr. Fashion-Disaster. He's desperate for female attention, from what I can tell."

"Deal," Connor replied. They split up at the door.

Lexi entered Annalise Keating's law office and looked around for a moment, admiring the interiors before she fixed her eyes on the guy in the ugly yellow shirt. He was standing near a wall in a rather cock-sure way and Lexi slipped in between two girls to get the spot next to him. When he turned and looked at her, he grinned widely.

"Well, hello there. Asher Millstone," he greeted, holding a hand out. He flexed his arm slightly, ensuring that Lexi saw the muscular bulge beneath the yellow shirt, ugly as it was. Playing along, she giggled slightly as she shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Asher. I'm Alexis Gray, but you can call me Lexi."

"Lexi," he repeated smoothly. "I saw you in class. You were sitting beside that guy who asked if Gina did it. You seemed to know him- you were talking to him before class too."

Lexi froze for a moment, surprised. Then she cleared her throat and lifted a hand to push her hair behind her ears, using the opportunity to brush her arm against Asher's. She gave him an impressed smile. "I didn't even speak during class. You're very observant."

"A necessary quality in a future lawyer," he replied coolly, seeming to enjoy the attention. Lexi smiled to herself at how quickly he swelled up. A few well-placed compliments were enough to bring someone like Asher down. "That, and uh, it's difficult to take my eyes off someone as beautiful as you. You're the sort of woman that stands out in a crowd."

Lexi shifted her gaze downwards so she could look embarrassed, while wondering if he'd really been checking her out during class or if there was some other reason he remembered her face. "That's very sweet of you. Clearly you also have a way with words. Another necessary quality?"

Asher smirked. "Just being honest, babe. But you know, there is one thing I can't quite put my finger on. And that's why a gorgeous girl like you is dating that Connor guy. He must have some qualities that don't show on the surface because frankly, I'm not seeing it."

"I might take offence at that," Lexi replied. "If he was my boyfriend. But Connor and I are just friends. I prefer my men a little more… clean shaven." She lifted a finger and placed it gently on Asher's cheek, wondering if she was going too far. But the smirk on his face told her that even if she flashed him right there in Annalise Keating's office, he wouldn't protest. "After all, there are some places a woman doesn't like to feel a man's stubble scratching against her skin."

Asher stared at her for a few moments, watching as Lexi bit her lip shyly after making one of the most suggestive comments he had ever heard from a girl he just met. But damn, she was making him hot. "Well, Alexis Gray, _I _think you're not nearly as innocent as I took you for," he replied. "Clearly there's a wildcat under that kitten exterior."

"I don't know what you mean," Lexi replied sweetly.

Asher opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the entire room going silent. Bonnie pushed her way through the students, hand-in-hand with Gina. All the students moved back to make space for them, and Lexi found herself conveniently shoved back against Asher. She remained with her back pressed against him for a few seconds longer than necessary, before smiling up a sweet apology. He grinned back at her, before allowing Gina to capture his attention.

Lexi met Connor's eyes across the room. He glanced towards Michaela Pratt and then mouthed 'bitch' in response, making a face. Then he nodded towards Asher and raised an eyebrow.

'Easy' Lexi mouthed back, and Connor gave her a smirk.

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"Hey Pop," Lexi greeted as she entered her parents' home. Her father was sitting near the television, and he beamed up at her. He held out his arms and Lexi smiled as she went over to his chair and gave him a hug. His leg was resting on the coffee table. "How's the limb doing?"

David Gray made a face. "Well, it's still attached to my body, so I suppose it's all right."

"Don't say that, Pop."

"You don't worry about my leg," he replied firmly. "First, you go kiss your mother and then you tell me how your first day in Annalise Keating's class was. I'd like to know if she's as much a bitch in the classroom as she is in court."

Lexi laughed. "Forgive and forget, Pop."

"Don't you give me that bullshit. That one encounter with the she-devil scarred me more than twenty years working in the police force did. You just pray that she never cross-examines _you._"

Lexi shrugged, going into the kitchen to greet her mother. David Gray had been a cop for a long time before he took a bullet to the leg in a firing while saving a little girl, and never quite recovered. He was disabled, but he was a hero. Everyone in the neighbourhood loved him and nobody looked up to him more than his own daughter. Lexi wondered if people would ever give her the same admiration that they gave her father. But then again, considering her career choice, it was unlikely.

"Do you know Judge Millstone, Pop?" Lexi asked as she sat down to dinner with her parents. Her mother piled home-cooked food onto her plate and Lexi didn't tell her to stop. She and her roommate had been living on takeout for weeks.

"Sure. Gave witness in his courtroom a few times," her father admitted. "Fair man."

"His son is in my class. He's probably going to be one of the people working for Keating."

"Hm. If you ask me, these kids who've got influential fathers in the same field never really get anywhere. Too much spoon-feeding. What you do has to be your own, not your parent's achievements. Now if you'd wanted to become a cop, I would have made sure no one in the department knew you were my daughter so you wouldn't get anything more than you deserved."

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "Gee, thanks."

"Your father doesn't mean that," Lexi's mother cut in. "It's all talk. He would have come in there and taken the tests for you if he could. Don't lie, David."

Lexi's father shrugged and laughed. "Well, it's a good thing she's not becoming a cop, either way. I don't even know what it is that convinced you to take up law, Lexi. It was that Connor kid, wasn't it? How's he doing? I met his father the other day."

"Connor's fine. He's probably racking his brain for defence strategies to present in Keating's class tomorrow," Lexi replied. "If we come up with a good one, we get to sit in court during the trial. We're pretty determined to get the chance to work for Keating."

"Hmph. Well, she's a good defence lawyer, but I don't want you getting too influenced by her, you hear me? Nobody likes a scheming bitch."

"Okay, Pop," Lexi giggled.

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Lexi smiled as she entered the courtroom. The last few rows were buzzing with her classmates and she couldn't help but feel excited as she looked around. She'd never felt so involved in an actual trial. This was what she had joined law school for. Annalise Keating looked calm and prepared.

"Lex!" Connor called out to her, from two rows down. There was an empty seat beside him and Lexi quickly settled herself into it, pulling her bag onto her lap. "What took you so long? They're about to start."

"Stayed at my parents' last night. I underestimated how long it would take me to get here," she explained, catching her breath. She turned to face the front and noticed that Asher was sitting right in front of her. He turned his neck to give her a smile and she shot him a dazzling one back.

"Ready to watch Annalise in action?" Asher asked.

Lexi smiled and leaned forward so that her face was closer to his. She bit her lip seductively. "I'm _always_ ready for action."

Asher smirked and turned back to face the front. Lexi smiled to herself too, but then noticed that Connor was miming puking. She slapped him on the arm before looking around the courtroom. "Hey. Where's the Queen Bitch? I thought she'd want a front row seat so she can lick Keating's ass."

Connor frowned, as he realized that Michaela was nowhere to be seen. Once they were sure that she wasn't here, he settled back into his seat with a smug grin. "Maybe she didn't want to miss Torts. Stupid bitch. Funny, I never thought she'd screw herself over."

Lexi shrugged. "Oh well. Her loss."

They fell silent as the witness took the stand and the prosecuting attorney began to question her. It wasn't good. Lexi winced as the victim's assistant painted a rather gruesome picture of his reaction to the medication and his skin turning blue. The old lady looked nice and sweet, and she was surely a trap for the jury. She finished off on a high note by even apologising to the victim's wife for not being able to do anything to save him. The prosecution had smiles on their faces.

"We just got screwed," Asher whispered, leaning back to talk to her and Connor. He gave Lexi a smile and a wink. "And not in a good way."

Lexi shrugged. "I'm sure Annalise has something up her sleeve."

Lexi watched in awe as Annalise Keating stood up to cross-examine the witness. She looked confident enough, and surely she could discredit everything that the prosecution said? She started off by establishing bad blood between the witness and her client. _Good step, _Lexi thought, wondering if she should take notes. Then again, everyone else was sitting silently so maybe she would look stupid. Before Annalise could continue, however, the muffled sound of heels thudding against the carpet interrupted her.

"What the…" Lexi whispered, as Michaela Pratt pushed her way into the court. All eyes turned to stare at her as she made a beeline for Frank and began to whisper something to him. "Is she suicidal? You do _not _make a scene when Annalise Keating is speaking."

Connor was watching her humiliate herself, his eyes glinting. "Well, now we know who's the first to flame out," he said calmly. Wes turned to look at him in surprise and Lexi grinned. What a waste. The bitch would have made an interesting competitor.

Michaela took the seat beside Asher, looking way too pleased with herself. Connor leaned forward. "What was that, something they taught you in Torts?" he asked.

Michaela smiled. "You should really pay attention. You might learn something."

Lexi clenched her fists as Michaela's discovery unfolded in the courtroom. She'd figured out that the assistant was hiding the fact that she was colour-blind and that, as a result, she couldn't possibly have identified the pill correctly. _How the hell did she even get that information? _She turned to look at Connor, wondering if he was as shocked as she was, but he was staring forward with his lips pressed tightly together. This was not going to go down easily. Lexi spent the rest of the session glaring daggers into the back of Michaela Pratt's head. Bitch was going down.

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Of course, that was easier said than done.

Lexi spent most of her evening going over the case, wondering if she could find something no one else had spotted. If Michaela could do it, so could she. She researched every single witness, every single person involved but simply couldn't come up with anything as substantial as that bitch's discovery. By the end of the evening, Lexi was tired and pissed. She grabbed her phone and found Connor's number.

"Speak," Connor said as he answered the phone. She could barely hear him; there was a lot of noise and music in the background. When she didn't speak, he sounded annoyed. "Come on, Lexi, I haven't got all day."

"My brain is going to explode," she told him. "I need to get out of here. Are you at a party? What happened to spending all evening finding a way to outdo the bitch? We're not going to get a spot working for Keating without doing anything."

"I know. I came out for a drink."

"Oh my god, a drink sounds so good. Where are you? I can-"

"Sorry darling," Connor cut her off. "This place isn't your scene. Besides, I've just spotted my target. Good luck with finding something for Keating."

He cut the call before she could say goodbye and Lexi frowned at her phone. Of course, there was no use getting offended, Connor offended everyone. Dropping her phone, she yelled across the apartment hoping that her flatmate could hear her. "Grace? Do you want to go out for a drink?"

"Sorry! Exam tomorrow!" Grace's muffled voice called back.

_Damn. _Lexi leaned back, wondering what to do now. She needed to get outside or her brain would fry. She took a deep breath and then smiled to herself. If she wasn't getting any work done, then she could at least make sure that someone else didn't get any done either.

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Lexi could hear the music pumping in the house from the other end of the street, and marvelled that the neighbours hadn't called the cops to complain yet. Then again, this close to the college, the majority of the inhabitants in this road were probably college students themselves and didn't want to take on the wrath that would befall them from breaking up a college party.

"Hey! Lexi- over here!"

Asher was leaning against his car with his arms crossed over his chest. He lifted a hand to wave at her and Lexi smiled as she greeted him with a quick hug. His hands grazed her ass lightly, but she chose not to say anything. "Wow, this is some party. I can't hear myself think and we're not even inside yet," she commented.

"Yeah, my friend's parties are known for getting pretty wild," Asher boasted with a grin. She noticed how he subtly slipped his arm around her waist as they walked toward the house. She could feel his fingers grazing the slim band of skin just above her jeans that her top didn't completely cover. He had smooth hands and it felt good. "But you know, if it's not your scene we could always go somewhere a little… quieter. My place is just two blocks away from here."

"Nice try," Alexis laughed. "But you, my friend, are not _getting any_ until I've had a couple of dances so how about we head in there, you get me a drink and show me some of your moves."

The alcohol was cheap, but Lexi wasn't complaining. She supposed it was good that there wasn't anything too strong because she needed to be in court the next day and the idea of facing Annalise Keating with a raging hangover was too scary to describe. Asher showed Lexi off to everyone that he knew; she noticed that his arm would snake firmly around her waist whenever he introduced her to someone. _Oh well, _she thought lightly. _Let him have his fun. I'm going to have mine. _

"I'm sick of all this talking," Lexi said, after Asher had greeted enough drunk college kids. "Come on Millstone, show me some moves. Or are you afraid you'll embarrass yourself?"

"You have no idea what you've just unleashed," he explained, as he steered her towards the crowd of people dancing. Lexi wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled seductively. Asher grinned and, taking the invitation, placed his own hands low down on her back. They were resting on her ass, but Lexi merely smiled up at him shyly.

He was fun to play with. Lexi had never considered herself particularly… flirtatious but somehow, she liked winding Asher up. He seemed pretty comfortable until she moved closer. Her breasts pressed up against him, her neckline stretching so that if he looked down, he could see a generous amount of cleavage. Asher stiffened, unable to take his eyes away from her chest. "Wow," he muttered. "Has anyone ever told you that you are unbelievably sexy?"

"You're not so bad yourself," Lexi replied, standing on her tiptoes to speak in his ear. She let her lips trail across his cheek as she moved back to her original height. Her eyelids were half-closed as she swayed to the music and Asher could feel himself getting turned on. He stiffened as she moved their groins closer together, the denim on her thigh brushing against his erection. "Are you okay?" she asked with an innocent smile. "You don't look so comfortable."

"Fine," he choked out. He felt a little relieved as she moved away from him, but Lexi only turned around and pressed her back to him instead. She was moving her hips, making sure to press her ass against him.

"Asher, come on. Loosen up," Lexi insisted, hiding a smirk. She knew that he was trying to hide how turned on he was. Reaching behind her and grabbing his arms, she pulled them so that they were wrapped around her waist and his palms rested flat on her stomach. "Gosh, this is such a good song." Guiding his hands up her abdomen, she pulled them over her ribs and stopped just as his palms brushed the undersides of her breasts.

"Alexis Gray," Asher growled, using his grip on her ribs to pull her harder back against him. He slipped a leg in between hers so that he could rub it against her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she felt the pressure of his thigh between her legs. "You're a fucking tease. My place is two blocks away."

Lexi smiled and turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck again and placing her lips against his jaw. "But we're having so much fun here," she murmered against his skin. Her hands slowly slid down his abdomen, caressing his muscles through his shirt. Once she reached the hem, she didn't stop; her fingers brushed his painfully growing erection before moving back up. "Why would you want to leave?"

"Because if we don't leave," Asher muttered, fingers gliding smoothly up her back, "I might just push you against the wall and take you right here. Are you sure you want an audience? Because I'm beyond caring now."

"Mmm, someone's impatient," Lexi teased. She bit her lip and moved her head closer to him so that they were inches apart. She could feel Asher's breath on her face. He groaned and moved forward to capture her lips with his. He kissed her hungrily, his thigh still rubbing in between her legs while his hands buried themselves in her hair. Lexi could feel his fingers tugging impatiently at her dark locks. His lips were rough and insistent. She gave in, enjoying the lustful kisses until her phone rang, causing the two to pause for a moment.

"Ignore it," Asher whispered hoarsely.

Lexi shook her head and smiled at him sweetly before picking up the phone. The caller ID said that it was her roommate. "Hey Grace. What's up?"

"I can barely hear you," Grace replied on the phone. "Anyway, I'm done studying. I was going to ask if you still wanted to go for that drink, but you sound busy."

"No, not at all." Lexi looked up at Asher who was staring at her blatantly, his mouth slightly open and hints of lipstick smudged around it. "I'll meet you at the apartment in 10, okay?"

She hung up the phone and smiled sweetly at Asher. "Wait, what? Who are you going to meet?" he asked hurriedly.

"Sorry. I have to go," Lexi replied. She glance down once to make sure that he still had a raging hard-on before lifting a finger to wipe the smudge of lipstick away from his mouth. "We should do this again sometime. Bye, Asher."

And she walked out of the party, feeling rather powerful.

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The courtroom was as full of energy as it had been at the last trial, but Michaela's success had somewhat dampened the mood for Lexi. She didn't want to sit anywhere near the bitch so she ended up taking a seat beside Laurel, the girl who'd answered for Wes on the first day of class. She seemed like a quiet sort, hopefully she wouldn't get on Lexi's already frustrated nerves.

"Hi," she said softly as Lexi sat beside her.

"Hi. Laurel, right? I'm Alexis," she introduced herself. "I liked your defence strategy. The one about most members of jury pools being from low socio-economic backgrounds? It was a really different take. I'm sure no one else thought of it."

Laurel smiled. "Thanks. But I doubt it was good enough to get me that spot working for Keating. There's a lot of competition here; Michaela really set the bar high yesterday. And I think Connor Walsh has something up his sleeve too."

Lexi raised an eyebrow and then noticed that Connor was standing up near the front of the courtroom talking to Annalise Keating. There was a sheet of paper in her hand that she was skimming through. Connor seemed calm at first glance; but there was a glint in his eyes that Lexi recognized. He'd found something, and he'd found something good.

He turned around to move back to his seat and Lexi mouthed 'what the hell?' at him. How did he not even tell her that he'd found something to help the trial? Connor smirked and pressed a finger to his lips before taking a seat in the front rows.

Lexi frowned. Damn him. Now she was seriously behind.

Once the courtroom session was over, Lexi filed out along with the other students. Michaela's triumph was one thing, but now that Connor had managed to get himself in Annalise's good books too, Lexi was starting to feel tense. There wasn't much time left and she needed to prove herself. She was better than the rest of these idiots, right? She knew that. Now Annalise needed to know it.

"How'd you get that email?" Michaela was demanding Connor in the corridor. Lexi caught Connor's eye and grinned at him, before placing a finger over her lips. 'Don't tell' she mouthed.

"Yeah, bro," Asher sounded disgruntled. "For realz."

Connor smiled at Lexi and then gave both Connor and Michaela a smug grin. "I don't kiss and tell,' he replied, before walking away to join Lexi.

"What the hell does that mean?" Michaela demanded, making to follow them down the corridor. Lexi couldn't resist the opportunity to give her the finger before pulling Connor down the corridor so he could tell her how on earth he'd managed to hack into the company's email system. This was sure to be a good one.

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The Dean's cocktail party was a fancy event. Clinking glasses and crystal chandeliers, Lexi felt slightly uncomfortable. She hadn't even planned to come. Her plan had been to stay at home and not sleep until she'd found something to help the case. But Connor had come banging at her apartment door and given her exactly twenty minutes to change. Lexi grumbled and complained, but she did it anyway. It wasn't like her research was getting anywhere.

"First year is the worst," Professor Keating was telling them with a smile. He seemed like a really nice, easy-going man. Lexi liked him, but she was pretty sure that between him and Annalise, she could guess who the dominant partner was. This man seemed a bit of a push-over. "No doubt. But just put your head down, do all the work, and try not to take it so seriously."

Asher laughed. He was looking good in a suit, and Lexi eyed him up slowly as he spoke. "No offense, but obviously, you never went to law school. This place is a dog fight. 24/7. And only da big dog get da bone," he joked, laughing. Lexi noticed Michaela and Connor forcing out laughs too, and she smiled politely. Asher looked up at her however, and narrowed his eyes. Clearly he hadn't forgotten last night.

But then his gaze drifted down to her stockings and stayed there for a considerable amount of time, so he couldn't be too angry. Lexi crossed one leg over another and rubbed them together slightly, knowing that he was staring. Somehow, she felt a little thrilled when she noticed Asher Millstone checking her out. There was something flattering about his lustful gaze.

"Okay, you're onto me," Professor Keating was saying with a laugh. "I'm a Psychology professor. But before you lose all respect for me, you should know that I work with the firm sometimes. And you?" he asked, gesturing towards Wes, who had just joined the group. Lexi smiled at the clueless puppy look on his face.

"Wes," Connor filled in, when Wes didn't answer himself. "He's in your wife's class too."

"Ah. Sam," he reached out to shake Wes' hand with a smile. "How's it going so far? Has she gone full terrorist on you yet, or no?"

Wes' clueless puppy face still hadn't gone. He blinked around for a moment and then smiled confusedly. "I'm sorry, who's your wife?"

"Professor Keating," Michaela muttered through the smile plastered on her face. Lexi felt a little bad for Wes. It wasn't as though she'd known who Sam Keating was until he'd introduced himself. But then again, she hadn't made her cluelessness as obvious as Wes had.

Lexi miled politely and moved away from the group, her glass empty. She still had no idea how she was going to make Keating notice her and couldn't help but feel that she was wasting time at this party. What if the trial ended and she still hadn't figured it out? Connor and Michaela would get spots working for Keating and she would be left behind. Lexi couldn't let that happen.

She had just reached a small buffet table in the corner of the room and was scanning the miniature snacks spread out on it when a pair of arms slipped around her waist from behind. Lexi jumped in surprise, but was pulled back and pinned firmly against a hard chest. "You're a fucking cocktease," Asher Millstone whispered in her ear, before lightly trailing his teeth across her earlobe. His hands stroked her waist through the dress. "Do you know what those legs have been _doing _to me all night? How did you know that stockings turn me on, huh?" he breathed.

"Lucky guess," she replied, turning her head to speak to him. Asher took the opportunity to place a soft kiss on her neck, his lips caressing her skin. "You do realize we're in public."

"You were grinding your tight little ass against me in public yesterday, you didn't seem to mind then. The problem is that you enjoy getting me wound up, because you know what you do to me. Does it make you feel powerful?" he whispered hoarsely, his hands slowly sliding further up her waist until they rested on her ribcage. His thumb stroked the undersides of her breasts through the dress. Lexi tensed, wondering if someone would notice how he was groping her. Her professor was standing a few feet away!

"We're in public," Lexi muttered again, unable to think straight. His warm breath still caressed the back of her neck, accompanied by soft touches of his lips. If he didn't stop soon, her knees would give way and she would make a bigger scene. "Asher, stop it _now_."

"But why?" he murmured against her skin, his fingers continuing to stroke just below her breasts. One stray finger brushed a clothed nipple and Lexi closed her eyes before remembering where she was. One furtive glance towards Professor Keating showed that she was still deep in conversation with the others. But it was just a matter of time before someone noticed them. "We're having so much fun. Unless you want to stop now and come back to my place later…"

He turned her around slowly and kissed her, his lips claiming hers lustfully while his hands moved to cup her ass. Lexi gasped into his lips as Asher pulled her up against him, his fingers sliding under the back of her dress and stroking the skin above her stockings. "You have no idea how much I want to rip this dress off you right now," he muttered.

"Stop it," Lexi muttered, pushing him off. Her head was spinning slightly and she pressed her thighs together. Once she had taken a few steps away from him, she looked up at him with dark eyes. "You're a fucking bastard."

"This is revenge, sweetheart," Asher replied coolly. He smiled pulled out his phone from his pocket and started typing. "Now I'm going to text you my address. You can either come here after the party and let me fuck you until you can't walk anymore, or you can go home and lie on your bed alone, masturbating to thoughts of me." He pressed send and Lexi felt her own phone buzz in her pocket. She froze as he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek before coolly walking back to where Professor Keating was standing with other students.

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Alexis Grey rushed into the courtroom just in time for the trial, her hair still damp and her face devoid of makeup. She slid into the seat next to Laurel again. Laurel smiled at her, before giving her a concerned look. "Are you okay, Lexi?"

"Fine, overslept," she muttered, although it was a lie. She was late because she'd had to drive back home after spending the night at Asher's apartment, so she could shower and change into something appropriate for court. But nobody needed to know that. Lexi could see Asher sitting a few rows ahead of her and blinked. He seemed like a goofball but _damn_, he knew what he was doing in bed. She was still sore from last night. "I didn't see you at the cocktail party last night."

Laurel shrugged, but didn't offer much of an explanation. There was a noise at the front of the courtroom and Lexi quickly turned back to face the front, trying to concentrate on the witness and not the back of Asher Millstone's head. The prosecution had found footage of Gina at a convenience store, the night before the murder. Lexi's eyes widened in horror. They'd been completely blindsided! She turned to her left and saw that both Michaela and Laurel looked shocked as well.

Annalise stalked out of the courtroom as soon as the trial was over; it was obvious that she was angry. Lexi felt irritated with Gina too. How did you keep information like this from your lawyer? She followed Laurel and Michaela out of the courtroom, checking her phone until she felt two hands come up behind her and grab her ass.

"Hey gorgeous. Why don't you come over again tonight for round 2? If you're not too sore from last night, that is," Asher Millstone asked her with a big grin. He was loud enough for everyone surrounding them to hear her and both Laurel and Michaela looked back at them with raised eyebrows.

"You two are sleeping together?" Michaela asked, sounding slightly disgusted. She saw Asher's hands on Lexi's ass and then turned away quickly. "Never mind, I don't want to know." Pulling her bag higher up on her shoulder, she walked away quickly and Laurel followed her. Lexi flushed red when she saw Wes giving her a curious look too.

"What the hell is your problem?" Lexi snapped at Asher. He was smiling goofily and didn't seem to care much that her teeth were gritted together in anger. "Do you even think before you speak? Was it necessary for them to know that we had sex? You're not a high school kid who has to proclaim his conquests to his locker room buddies!"

Asher shrugged and smiled. "Come on, babe. Don't you want the opportunity to make the other girls jealous of you? Once people find out that you managed to seduce _the _Asher Millstone, they'll think you're a-"

"Cheap slut who has no standards," Lexi replied harshly. "Stay away from me."

Lexi spent the rest of the day feeling guilty about what she'd said to Asher. Yes, he was immature and a little tactless at times, but she'd been unnecessarily harsh. She just didn't like the idea of either Michaela or Laurel knowing about her sex life. They were competition, and even though Laurel wasn't a bitch, Lexi had still intended to keep her at an arm's length. Of course _that _was shot. Hopefully Connor didn't find out, or he would never let her hear the end of it.

Deciding that she wasn't going to waste her time thinking about Asher Millstone, she turned her mind to the tape that the prosecution had found of Gina buying aspirin. Maybe it was time to do some research into that. Otherwise, she could kiss working for Annalise goodbye.

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Alexis Gray was trying not to let her voice tremble as she explained her discovery to Annalise. Connor and Michaela were both sitting a few feet away in the courtroom, listening intently as Alexis revealed what she'd found.

"I cross-checked Detective Gill's testimony," Lexi said, "and he claimed that he received the video at around 8 pm. But he didn't log it into custody until about 2 am- here, I have the sheet that proves it. I mean, why would he require such a long time to log it in when the precinct is hardly twenty minutes away from the convenience store? Maybe we could argue that they altered the video or something-"

"I know what to argue," Annalise cut her off, taking the paper that proved the time of logging the video into custody. "Alexis Gray. I cross-examined your father on a case once. He was one of the most stubborn witnesses I've ever dealt with."

Lexi flushed. "Yes, he told me-"

"Well spotted. Go sit down."

Lexi accepted her dismissal and quickly hurried back to her seat. Michaela frowned and leaned over to interrogate her. "How did you get police custody documents?" she wanted to know. "I've tried to get them to hand them over in so many ways, but-"

"It's not how you ask," Lexi replied with a smug smile. "It's who's asking."

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"Now it's time to find out who will be joining us in our firm," Annalise Keating said with a smile as she paced the classroom. Most students were sitting tight and upright. The room was filed with tension and Lexi clasped her fists so hard that her nails dug into her skin.

"First," Annalise announced. "The stand-out in the class. And they one you should make it your mission to destroy – come get your prize, Mr. Walsh."

Connor stood up with a triumphant look on his face, and even Lexi wanted to slap the smug grin off him. She couldn't even imagine how Michaela must be feeling and the slight disappointment that rippled through Lexi was neutralized by the relief that at least it was Connor and not that bitch. As he moved down the steps to collect the trophy, Annalise continued.

"The other ones joining us will be – Asher Millstone." Asher stood up and did a rather dramatic punch in the air, along with a loud grunt. Lexi cringed for him. Did he have no shame? "Michaela Pratt. Alexis Gray. Laurel Castillo. And because our workload has grown, I decided to hire one more of you. And that one will be- Wes Gibbins."

The classroom fell silent.

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Alexis Gray could not believe that she was doing this. She _never _made the first move on a guy, unless she wanted something from him. Maybe she didn't have flocks of guys waiting to date her, but she was content to sit and wait until one approached her. Alexis Gray never made the first move.

Yet she found herself standing on the front porch of Asher Millstone's fancy place, clutching a bottle of expensive wine and waiting for him to come open the fucking door. He took forever, and when he finally opened it, he appeared to be half asleep. He was in a tight t-shirt and sweatpants, hair mussed and looking like he just got out of bed. _God, he's sexy. _

"Alexis?" he asked, blinking down at her. He stared at her a few moments and then frowned. "Wow, it's like- it's like midnight. What are you doing here?"

"Thought you might want to celebrate getting picked by Keating," she replied simply. Her hand held up the bottle of wine. "I brought a peace offering. You gonna let me in or what?"

Asher leaned his shoulder against the door frame, crossing his arms over his chest. _Damn him. He knows that position makes his arms look great, _Lexi mused. But Asher was looking at her through sleepy eyes and with his lower lip jutting out slightly. "What happened to a perfectly respectable girl being made into a cheap slut because she slept with me? Are you sure you want to damage your reputation that way?"

Lexi stared at him. "Oh my god. Are you seriously pouting?" she asked with a giggle. His sleepy face, coupled with the moody pout made him look absolutely adorable. She reached out and pinched his cheek, causing him to pull back, annoyed. "Asher Millstone, you are an overgrown 7-year old. Now open this fucking door, get me two glasses for this wine- and take that shirt off, it's blocking my view."

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**A/N – To those who read my previous story, I decided to change it for the following reasons. **

**I had intended that story as merely a two-shot. It was not supposed to have character development or anything of the sort. But I decided that I wanted to write something longer and a little more complex, following the story's plotline. **

**I started disliking my OC. I realized after I wrote half of the second chapter that al she seemed to do was whine. It is not possible to write a story when you start disliking your own main character, I'm sure you can understand that.**

**My OCs friendship with Connor was a main part of the storyline but somehow it wasn't working. Their personalities didn't match and I realized Connor would never be friends with someone like my old OC. This one is a little more manipulative and ambitious, leading to her friendship with Connor being relatively more realistic. **

**Thanks guys! Leave a review!**


	2. It's All Her Fault

**A/N –THIS STORY HAS BEEN CHANGED. ANY OLD READERS WILL HAVE TO GO BACK AND READ CHAPTER ONE. **

**Episode 2**

Alexis groaned as she turned over on an unfamiliar bed. Well, it wasn't completely unfamiliar. She'd slept on it once before and as she pushed her face into the pillow, she could smell Asher's nice scent. Maybe too nice. She should tell him to take it easy on the aftershave. She opened her eyes, expecting to see him on the other side of the bed, but the sheets were empty. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up.

There was music drifting into the room and Lexi realized that was what had woken her bathroom door was ajar and through the reflection in the mirror, she could see Asher in a towel, wiggling his hips to the tune while he shaved. Lexi couldn't resist a laugh. How could someone be so sexy and goofy at the same time? "What are you doing?" she called out, giggling.

Asher turned to see her looking at him and instantly stopped his stupid dance, clearing his throat and wiping his razor. "Oh, hey. You're awake. You should hurry up, we got to meet _the boss_ at 10." He paused and smiled. "Sounds cool, huh? Calling Annalise Keating the boss?"

Lexi shrugged, pushing the sheets off and getting up. She walked barefoot across the room and entered the bathroom. "Damn it. If I drive home again, I might be late. I should just shower here… but I don't have clothes. Why didn't I think this through?"

Asher grinned as Lexi leaned against the bathroom doorframe. Her legs were bare, and she was wearing only his shirt from last night. He put the razor down and moved closer to wrap his arms around her waist, getting wet droplets from his body onto her. "Well, you could just, uh… come like this. I sure wouldn't mind. What do you think?"

Lexi smiled mischievously, slipping her hand in between them and under his towel. Asher's eyes widened in surprise. "I think someone's not taking my dilemma seriously. I'm going to drive back home. See you at Keating's." She leaned up to press her lips against his jaw seductively, before withdrawing her hand from his towel and going to find her jeans.

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"Have you heard of hairdryers?" Michaela Pratt asked condescendingly as Lexi turned up, once again, with damp hair. Her dark strands were glistening and leaving small wet patches on her shirt. "They're not a bad investment; considering how often you turn up to professional settings with dripping wet hair."

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I know. If it's bothering you so much…" she trailed off, lifting a hand to ruffle her hair and causing small droplets to fall on Michaela. Michaela squealed in horror and moved a safe distance away from her. "See, it's a hard choice to make. Wet hair is a bitch repellent."

"You are disgusting," Michaela replied sharply. She was desperately rubbing at the tiny droplet marks on her sleeve. Lexi turned around and winked at Connor, who looked rather amused.

They met Annalise's new client; Max St. Vincent, a man accused of killing his wife. He showed them around his enormous house and Lexi listened absently while he told them soppy stories of how he'd met his wife and how much he loved her. Personally, Lexi thought there was something off about him but she could see that Michaela looked interested. _So the bitch has a romantic side_. Although, it wasn't as though anyone else was paying much attention. Wes and Connor were both eyeing up the creepy animal heads that adorned the walls and Asher was staring holes into her ass. Maybe Laurel was listening, Lexi couldn't be sure.

He opened the doors to the bedroom, and that was when everyone snapped back to reality. The mattress was stained with blood. It had spattered onto the walls and the lampshade. Lexi felt her breakfast kick up in her stomach. _Oh my God, this is disgusting. _She stopped at the door while everyone else entered, not wanting to be any closer to the blood.

"I've asked Max to preserve the crime scene until after the trial is over," Annalise explained. "You never know what forensic clues you'll find to help our case later."

"The room needed some colour anyway," Max replied coolly, and Lexi felt her stomach turn again as she looked at him. What kind of a sick, perverted man was he? That was his wife's dried blood covering the walls! Her hands trembled, and she had to close her eyes. She felt a touch on her arm and looked up to see Connor.

"Don't make a scene," he whispered, pulling her a little further into the room. His confidence made her feel a little better. He didn't seem as creeped out by the blood and she let him walk her further into the room before someone realized how disturbed she was. Considering that both Michaela and Laurel hadn't freaked, she didn't want to seem weak. Connor knew that.

"Look around, take photos, be the fresh eyes we need to help this case," Annalise was saying, as they all began to walk around the room and inspect the crime scene. Connor whipped out his phone and started clicking pictures, but he kept a firm grasp on Lexi's arm. It was comforting, and she relaxed long enough to take out a notebook and a pen.

"I need a volunteer," Max announced, clapping his hands together. It was almost as if he could sense Lexi's obvious discomfort and took pleasure in it, because she was the first person his eyes landed on. Laurel and Michaela were giving each other doubtful looks. "Ladies?"

Lexi started trembling slightly, and Connor could feel it. He released her arm and stepped forward. "I'll do it," he replied confidently and Lexi almost sank to the floor in relief. She didn't want to be anywhere near this man and she could tell that the other girls shared her thoughts.

"Very well," Max replied, walking up to Connor and standing inches away from his face. Connor suddenly seemed to regret his burst of confidence and smiled uncomfortably. "You're about as pretty as my wife."

He pushed Connor down on the bloody bed and Lexi cringed, taking a step back. She ended up walking right into Wes, who looked equally disturbed. She apologized to him quickly, but he barely noticed. Everyone was watching Max climb up onto the bed beside Connor and stab him in the neck with a pen. "Is this necessary?" Lexi whispered, as Max explained how he'd missed, and hit an artery, which explained the blood spatters on the walls.

Wes shrugged, his eyes wide. Max had sat up and was now stabbing Conor repeatedly, a demented look in his eyes. Lexi could picture the man sitting astride his wife in the very same bed, stabbing her writhing body again and again with a knife while blood gushed out of her wounds, covering the bed, the walls, the maniacal smile on his face… _I'm going to puke. _

She ran out of the room and into the hall outside, breathing heavily. Her stomach was twisting and blood-stained white sheets danced in front of her eyes as she closed them. The sight of the animal heads staring at her from the walls wasn't helping. She could imagine how _they'd _been killed, heads severed from their necks, blood dripping down a butcher's knife…

"Come on, get up," a voice muttered gently, helping her up. She hadn't even realized that she'd slid down the wall and was crouching just outside the bedroom. Connor put an arm around her. "Relax, okay? We'll get you out of here. It's okay."

Max St. Vincent was standing a few feet away, watching with mild interest as the girl trembled. She managed to stand up with Connor's help, but there was still a terrified look in her eyes. Lexi noticed Max and felt the bile rise up in her throat. She couldn't stand to see him looking at her like that- it sent a chill down her spine, like he was going to start stabbing her next. Luckily, Asher stepped in between, blocking Max's sight of her. "Is she okay?" he asked Connor. "Damn, she just bolted out of there like-"

"Shut up, Millstone," Connor snapped. He was looking down at Lexi as he led her out of the house. "Come on, I saw a coffee shop across the street. You feeling better?"

Lexi nodded. "Yeah. I was trying not to freak out, I just- oh god, I humiliated myself in front of Annalise Keating. She must think I'm so _pathetic, _why couldn't I just stay in control for a few more minutes?" she muttered. Now that the animal heads and the blood-stained bed were behind her, she felt better. She took a deep breath as Connor led her out into the street. "Did she notice?"

Connor nodded. "Oh, she noticed all right. You made quite the scene. She didn't say anything, though."

Lexi nodded, straightening up. "Thanks, Connor. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"I know," he replied, smiling at her.

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"The murder book," Frank explained, slamming a big binder down on the table. "Given to us by the prosecution with all the evidence they've gathered in Max's case. Go through it- find the holes that will help get our guy a 'not guilty'."

Alexis trudged forward and took her share of the files, carrying them back to the couch. It looked like a lot of work. She put them down with a groan and then curled up next to a cushion. Wes was about to take the seat next to her, when Annalise called out- "Mr. Gibbins? My office, now."

Connor was watching Wes with a suspicious look. As soon as he had walked out of the room, he turned to look at the others. "What do we think is going on there?" he asked through gritted teeth. "We all earned our spot, here, right? But waitlist?"

Laurel frowned. "Don't call him that."

"Maybe he's her secret baby, like she gave him up for adoption and he doesn't even know," Asher grinned, taking the seat next to Lexi that Wes had vacated.

"Because all black people are related?" Michaela snapped.

"What? No, I-"

Lexi tuned out of the conversation, turning her attention to the files in front of her. Waitlist or not, Wes had managed to keep his cool in Max St. Vincent's house today, while she'd totally screwed up her image in front of her boss. She was determined to make up for her behavior, when she felt Asher's hand on her leg. "You liked my theory, right?" he whispered in her ear, fingers gliding up and down her knee.

Lexi pushed his hand away sharply. She liked how it felt, but she didn't like the idea of Michaela or Connor noticing that Asher was feeling her up. "Haven't we talked about this?" she hissed. "Not in public."

Asher grinned. "Later, then? Third time's the charm."

"I'll think about it," she replied.

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"Lexi," Asher breathed in between lustful kisses and trying to pull off clothes. He was pressing kisses to Lexi's neck while she tugged at the buckle on his belt and tried to remove his pants. He paused, his fingers tightening in her hair as he tilted her head up to look at him. "Will you-ah- will you go to my parents' anniversary party with me?"

Lexi hardly heard him, her fingers were busy fumbling with his belt buckle. "What?

"It's my parents' anniversary this weekend. They're throwing this party at this hotel. You know, black tie, lots of important people and…" he paused, grabbing her fingers to stop her from unbuttoning his jeans. "Are you listening to me? Do you want to go?"

"Yeah, fine, whatever," she muttered distractedly as she got back to working on his pants. Asher grinned and reached down to help her out.

Alexis did spend the night at Asher's. She wasn't sure what it was about him that made her keep going back. He was a goofball with no grace or tact whatsoever. But after the long day she'd had, she looked forward to his stupidity. She'd never really admit that she found him funny, but he helped her relax. In more ways than one.

"Hey, Lexi?" Asher muttered, as they lay back in bed. She was half asleep; she'd cuddled close to him for the first time, throwing an arm over his bare torso and resting her head on his shoulder while he gently stroked her back. The smooth touch was relaxing and it was making her more and more drowsy. "Lexi. Are you asleep?"

"I'm trying to be," she mumbled. His hand stopped stroking her back and she let out a spontaneous moan. "No. Keep doing that."

He grinned to himself and resumed stroking her back. "Okay. Can I ask you something?"

"Mm."

Asher sat up slightly, resting on one elbow so he could look at her. Her eyes were still slightly closed and her hair spread out on the pillow. She looked extremely peaceful, and he reached out a hand to brush strands of hair out of her face. "Are we, like… are we exclusive or something? How would you feel if I slept with other girls?"

Lexi opened one eye to look up at him. He looked so worried, it was adorable. She smiled. "Relax, Millstone. You can sleep with other guys, for all I care. But I'm not into threesomes, so don't even bother bringing that up."

Asher frowned. "Okay… so you can sleep with other guys?"

"That's how it works."

"_Are _you sleeping with other guys? Connor, for example?"

Lexi opened one eye and looked up at him, bewildered. "Where did you get that idea from? No, I'm not sleeping with Connor. I told you this before, he's just a friend."

"Well, you were getting all touchy-feely this morning after you ran out of Max's bedroom, and he seemed really concerned about you, so I thought-"

"Don't."

"Don't what?" Asher wanted to know.

"Don't _think._ Just sleep, I'm tired." She turned over and faced the other side of the bed, curling up into herself and proceeding to ignore him. Asher frowned down at her for a few moments before allowing his own head to hit the pillow.

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Lexi's head drooped as she pored over files. They'd had to stay in the night after Max's daughter gave witness and it was revealed that he'd murdered his first wife in Switzerland. She'd developed a justified loathing for their client now, considering that she could be at home, watching tv or getting a good night's sleep.

"Does anyone want coffee?" she asked, getting up. She couldn't stay awake and Annalise's sofa was far too comfortable for Lexi to pay attention to what she was reading. She got a murmured approval from both Wes and Laurel, so she stepped over boxes of files towards the kitchen, stopping for a moment at Connor's chair. "Didn't you have a date tonight?" she whispered, bending to talk to him.

Connor frowned and sat up, closing the file in his lap and pulling out his phone. "Shit. I forgot about Oliver. Annalise will never let me leave, I'll have to call him and cancel."

Lexi nodded, moving into the kitchen to make the coffee she needed. If Annalise was going to fucking make them work overtime, she could at least provide them with caffeine. She flicked the switch on the coffee maker and stood there, her eyes drooping shut. She almost fell asleep standing, before machine luckily made a noise. Pouring out mugs of coffee, she entered the living room only to find it deserted. Only the files were lying all over the table and couches.

"What the- where is everyone?" Lexi asked, turning to Bonnie, who was sitting at her desk. Bonnie looked up coolly.

"They went to Max's house to look for more clues at the crime scene. Annalise thought it was better not to take you, since you made quite the scene last time."

Lexi frowned. "Oh. Coffee?"

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Lexi entered her apartment the evening after Max St. Vincent was acquitted. She couldn't help but shake the feeling that they kept getting guilty people off- but then again, that was what Annalise did most of the time. _It doesn't matter whether they're innocent or guilty_, she told herself. Not to mention that she'd been entirely useless this trial. So useless that Annalise hadn't even bothered to take her to the crime scene a second time.

"Ah, so she's alive," Grace greeted Lexi. She was sitting in the living room with a magazine, but she lowered it as her flatmate entered. "I was starting to wonder if I would have to pay the rent myself this month; you're never around. Either Keating's working you too hard, or you have a new boyfriend you're planning to move in with."

Lexi chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not moving anywhere."

"Yeah? Well, you must be having a lot of sex because you hardly spend nights here anymore. It's not Connor, is it? Is he still gay? How do you look at that gorgeous man every day and not want to screw him senseless?"

"I've seen him in diapers, it's not that hard. If you must know, I'm sleeping with Judge Millstone's son."

Grace nodded thoughtfully. "I thought he would be loaded."

"Why's that?"

"Go look in the kitchen. I ate some, by the way. Figured you wouldn't mind."

Lexi kicked her heels aside and walked into the kitchen, realizing what Grace was talking about. There was a huge basket of red roses lying on the counter, along with a card. There was also a large box of chocolates that had been unwrapped. Lexi couldn't help but smile. It was always nice to get such a pretty gift after a long day. She popped a chocolate into her mouth and picked up the card.

_Hey, sexy. I knew you'd forget. I'll pick you up at 8. Dress fancy. –Asher _

Oh shit. Asher's parents' anniversary had completely slipped her mind. She glanced at the clock, relieved that it was only 6 and she had time to get ready. Part of her wondered why Asher was doing this – sending flowers, asking her on a date where she'd end up meeting his parents…. And he'd even asked if they were exclusive. Had he _wanted _them to be exclusive? Asher Millstone seemed to get pretty jealous at the idea of Lexi sleeping with Connor.

Her phone rang and Lexi answered it quickly. "Hello?"

"Lexi." It was Connor. "How about a drink to celebrate letting another murderer loose on the streets, huh? It's been a long day."

"Can't," Lexi replied. She walked out of the kitchen and into her bedroom, opening her closet. What did you wear to Judge Millstone's anniversary party? If she was going to be meeting important people, she needed to look her best. Contacts were everything in the legal world, and she was determined to make as many as she could. "I've got a date."

Connor snorted. "You're kidding me. It's not with Asher, is it? That guy's got like, a kindergarten crush on you. He found me after the trial and tried to ask me what kind of flowers you liked."

Lexi smiled. As stupid as that was, it was sort of… sweet. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him to fuck off," Connor replied simply. "What do we look like, BFFs who braid each other's hair? I don't know what kind of flowers you like. Who even talks about that shit? Come on, blow him off, I'm bored as hell."

Lexi sighed. "I'm not blowing him off, he's taking me to a party where there'll be a lot of important people. Besides, you should be busy too. What happened to Oliver? Go find him and get laid, you're annoying when you haven't had any."

"He's mad about me cancelling on Wednesday."

"You idiot. Swallow that pride, go get takeout or something, and knock on his door with a puppy dog face. It'll be worth it. If he's anything like you say he is, he's not going to turn you down."

Connor sounded doubtful. "Yeah?"

"Your only other option is to come over here and help me figure out what to wear."

"Eurgh. Point made."

"Take flowers!" she added, but he'd already hung up. Sighing, she dropped the phone on the bed and turned back to her closet. What did you wear to Judge Millstone's anniversary party?

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Asher let out a low whistle when Lexi opened the door, wearing a simple black dress that came to her knees and a fashionably draped shawl. It managed to be attractive, without showing too much inappropriate skin. Lexi thought it would be better to dress conservatively if there were going to be a lot of middle-aged people there.

"Shut up," Lexi told him as she grabbed her purse and stepped out, closing the door behind her. 'What's up with the flowers and taking me to your parents' anniversary, huh? Some might say you have a crush on me."

Asher grinned. "You're hot, babe, but I don't do crushes. No, you're my arm candy tonight. Asher Millstone's smart, sexy and successful girlfriend. People are going to look at me and wonder how I manage to have everything, while they have nothing."

"Wow," Lexi muttered, as he held open the door of his car for her. "I'm not seeing it. Please, tell me what exactly it is that you have that other people don't?"

Asher grinned. "Let's see. I've got money. I've got a successful dad, so I've got contacts. I'm working for one of the best lawyers in the state so I've got career, and I've got a hot and intelligent woman on my arm- who I didn't pay to be here, so it shows that I know how to work it with the ladies too."

"So I'm the stupid girl who's dating you for free."

Asher leaned over and put a hand on her knee, slowly sliding it up under her skirt. "Trust me, baby, I know how to make it worth your while."

Lexi smiled as Asher held out his arm and escorted her up to the restaurant. As much of a goofball as he was, he knew how to behave in the right kind of society. There were a lot of fancy chandeliers and crystal glasses clinking. Lexi suddenly felt nervous. She wasn't good in high society events- she didn't have a lot of experience. Would she do something wrong? What if she said something stupid? "Babe, ease up on the grip," Asher muttered, using a finger to retract her nails from his arm. "You're not nervous, are you?"

Lexi frowned. "What? Please."

Asher raised an eyebrow. "You look tense."

"Fine," she sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this to _you _of all people- but you won't let me say or do anything stupid, right? I'm not used to parties like these. I can't afford to humiliate myself in front of seriously influential people."

Asher chuckled. "Relax. I got this. Now come on, meet my parents."

Lexi took a deep breath as Asher led her over to where Judge Millstone was standing with his wife. She tried to force a smile on her face as Asher hugged his mother and kissed her on the cheek. "Happy Anniversary," he said to them with a smile. "Wow, Mom, you look great."

Mrs. Millstone smiled. She seemed like a very friendly woman and Lexi felt a little more relaxed. "Thank you, darling. And who's this?" she asked, turning to look at Lexi.

"This is my girlfriend, Alexis Gray," Asher replied, sounding a little smug. Lexi couldn't help but wonder exactly how many times Asher had had girlfriends that he could bring home to his parents. Somehow, she imagined most of his sexual experiences were with escorts and girls he picked up at bars. "She's in my class and she works for Annalise Keating too."

Alexis smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said quickly, to both of them. Judge Millstone gave her a nod and then turned to speak to another man that approached them. Lexi felt slightly hurt, but then, she didn't know what she'd expected. He wasn't going to spend time talking to his son's arm candy. She turned to look at Asher, whose face had dropped slightly. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Fine," he muttered. "Come on, let's go get a drink."

Asher was quiet for most of the evening. Lexi was surprised- he almost always had something to say, but he seemed content to just stand there in a corner and drink. Lexi had hoped to meet a few people, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen. "Asher," she muttered, after they'd stood alone and in a stony silence for almost ten minutes straight. "If you don't want to be here, we should just leave."

Asher looked up at her, seeming to realize how he was behaving. "What? No, I- I should introduce you to some people, right? That's why you came. I see Senator Wilkins right there, I know him, let's-"

"No," Lexi cut him off. "I don't want you to force yourself to introduce me to people, I'm not that cheap. You seemed fine on the way here, and now you're silent and this is your fifth drink. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Asher muttered.

"Okay. Well, do you at least want to dance?"

He nodded and led her out to the floor where couples were moving to slow music. Lexi put her arms around his neck. Asher placed his hands on her back, but he refused to look into her eyes. His gaze was fixed on the floor, and Lexi felt uncomfortable. He wasn't even trying to grope her ass. She placed a palm on his cheek and turned his head so he was looking at her. "Asher. You're not even looking at me. Do you want me to leave or something?' she asked quietly.

"_No." _Asher said firmly, with a sigh. "Look, I'm sorry. I asked you to come here and now I'm ruining it for you. Are you sure you don't want to meet Senator Wilkins? He's a really funny guy, cracks fart jokes and everything."

Lexi cracked a smile, and Asher returned it hesitantly. "I'm fine. I just want to make sure you are too. I know it's none of my business, but… is it something to do with your Dad? Why you're acting all quiet?"

"Look, forget it. I'm fine," Asher replied with a shrug. "We've never really talked, right? Tell me something about you."

"You've seen me naked, what more can you possibly want?" Lexi joked.

"I don't know. I mean, we've been sleeping together but I don't know anything except for the fact that you're studying to be a lawyer and you've known Connor since you were a kid. Thanks for telling me that he's gay, by the way," he added with a frown. "You could have mentioned that when I asked if you were sleeping with him."

"I don't know. I think it was cute seeing you get all jealous," she teased.

"Please. I do not get _jealous. _Anyway, forget about sex for a minute-"

Lexi mock gasped. "Did Asher Millstone just say 'forget about sex'?"

"Oh ha ha, you're cracking me up here. Hilarious," he replied, his fingers slowly moving down to grasp her ass. Lexi smiled. Well, at least he was _somewhat _back to normal. "Tell me about your family. Did you grow up here?"

Lexi smiled. "I did. My Dad's an ex-cop. He got a permanent injury in his leg saving a little girl during a shooting, and now he can't walk without a crutch. So he retired from the police force and he does some work for my uncle's business now and then. His options are limited, really, he's usually at home. Mom's a high school teacher. She quit her job after I was born but she started working again after Dad's injury to sustain the family financially."

There was something different about the way Asher looked at her as she spoke. It wasn't the usual lust, or carefree joking expression. There was something serious about it, and it made her slightly uncomfortable. She didn't know this side of Asher. He wasn't as easy to predict as the horny rich college kid. "You're in law school on scholarship," he stated.

"Yeah," she muttered. "Well, for tuition, at least. I took a loan from my uncle before I started here. He runs a business in New York, he doesn't have any kids, so… he lends me money when I need it, and lets me pay him back without interest."

Asher looked down at her. "Hmm. He sounds cool."

"Yeah. My parents don't really know that I borrow money from him sometimes," Lexi admitted. "I made him promise not to tell my Dad."

"Why?"

"It's…. it's hard to explain," Lexi replied. She frowned, wondering why she was even telling Asher all this. She'd never really talked to anyone about it besides Connor, and that was because he'd been there when it all happened. "I don't want my parents to feel like they can't provide for me, you know? I mean, they're amazing. I love my Dad, and I know that he would do anything for me. I don't want him to feel guilty about having to leave his job. He's a hero, and I never want him to regret saving that girl. I'm proud of him."

Asher smiled. "Yeah. I know what you mean. I'm proud of my Dad too."

"Of course you are. I mean, Judge Millstone got to where he is all by himself. Your dad's a role model for anyone joining the legal career. It's not easy to maintain such a spotless reputation."

"Feels good when someone praises your parents, doesn't it?" Asher asked softly. "I've always wanted to be like my Dad. I mean, he's achieved so much and I know he cares about me, I just… I just sometimes wish he'd stop and see how much I admire him, you know? And maybe tell me that he's as proud of me as I am of him. I know it's stupid and selfish, but-"

Lexi could hear his voice break slightly, and her she felt a sudden rush of affection for him. Asher Millstone might seem insensitive and tactless, but there was a child inside of him that just needed to be appreciated. Moving closer, Lexi rested her head on his shoulder. It felt odd- being in his arms in this way. They'd only ever embraced in lust. "It's not selfish," she whispered.

"No?" he asked. She could feel his head resting on top of hers gently as she pressed her cheek into the soft material of his suit. His aftershave smelled amazing.

"No. Everyone wants to feel loved. It's human nature. Sometimes people don't show their love, but that doesn't mean it's not there. They're just having trouble expressing it."

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He didn't ask her to come back to his place, and Lexi didn't suggest it either. The car ride back to Lexi's apartment was quiet. She could sense that there was something different; Asher had revealed a part of him to her that she didn't think he shared with anyone before and she wondered if he was regretting it.

"Hey, I'm sorry about tonight," he said quietly as he walked her to her apartment door. "I know it was kind of a bust. I'll make it up to you, if you'll let me."

Lexi shook her head. "It wasn't a bust. I planned to meet a lot of people, but I ended up getting to know one person a lot better. It was worth it. I didn't realize there was more to you than just sex and dirty jokes, Millstone."

Asher smiled as he leaned against the wall. He had his arms crossed over his chest and he was surprised when Lexi moved closer and kissed him. Her hand moved to rest on his cheek and he froze, unsure what to do. There was something sweet and gentle about the way she was kissing him; Asher had never really experienced it before. He slowly pressed his lips back to hers but before he could even move to touch her, Lexi had pulled away.

"Good night," she whispered.

"Night."

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**A/N – I would love to hear more feedback on this story. Anything I can do to improve would be great, I have never written a story that follows a TV show's plotline so closely so let me know if the scenes that repeat from the show are boring or if I should keep doing the same thing. **

**While I am a first year law student and the law is not entirely unfamiliar to me, I know very little of the American system. All I know about the legal system in the US is what I've learned from watching shows like The Practice and HTGAWM itself. If I make any factual errors, in this or any future chapters, do let me know. **

**Thanks guys. Merry Christmas! **


	3. Smile, or Go to Jail

**Episode 3**

Lexi grinned as she watched Michaela Pratt get caught making out with her fiancé on Keating's doorstep. Apparently '_This is Aiden Walker, he works for the Mayor of New York' _didn't mean shit to Annalise. Lexi couldn't wipe the smug grin off her face as she leaned forward to shake his hand.

"Alexis Gray," she greeted, just as Connor stepped out of Keating's office. Aiden's attention was immediately diverted to him and he dropped Lexi's hand limply. Connor was beaming.

"Aiden freaking Walker," he greeted, as the two men hugged. Michaela's smile was forced, while Lexi watched with interest. She had an idea where this was going, and she rather liked it. "My god!"

"You two know each other?" Michaela asked her fiancé reluctantly.

"Yeah, we went to boarding school together," Aiden explained, his eyes still fixed on Connor. "It's so good to see you, man."

Connor grinned at Michaela. "So this is your fiancé! Guess we have more in common than I thought," he whispered, before following Lexi down the stairs. Once they were out of earshot, Lexi grabbed Connor's arm.

"Tell me you slept with Michaela's fiancé," she insisted, beaming.

Connor grinned. "I slept with Michaela's fiancé."

"You little slut!" she smacked his arm, beaming widely. "God, I love you. You're going to make her life hell, do you understand me? She better not be able to stop imagining you screwing him once you're done with her."

"Obviously."

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"Hooker Mom turned out to be bomb Mom," Asher muttered, as he watched Bonnie and Annalise talk to who he'd assumed to be the sex-in-a-park lady. Who knew that she was actually responsible for bombing the World Financial Institute? Asher looked a little more excited than was appropriate. "I freaking love this job!"

"Her kids are sitting right there!" Laurel reprimanded him.

"Makes you wonder what secrets Aiden might be keeping from you," Connor said quietly to Michaela. Lexi had to cover her mouth to hide her snickering. She was loving the weirded-out look on the bitch's face right now.

It was a while before Annalise could convince them that they had a chance of winning the cause and that they shouldn't take the plea. Personally, Lexi thought the woman was insane. It would probably be safer for her kids if she _was_ locked up somewhere. "Why do we get the creepy clients all the time?" she wondered out loud as they left the police station. "First Max. St. Vincent and now the terrorist mom. Does Annalise ever take on _normal _clients?"

Asher grinned as he slipped his arm around her waist. "Hey, I'm not complaining."

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"I hate these Law Review parties," Alexis grumbled as she entered the bar. She'd spent all evening going over files for the Elena Aguilar case, not to mention that they'd had to spend the afternoon interviewing Griffin O' Reilly as a potential client. The last thing she wanted right now was to be in a noisy bar with people screaming. "Just get me something strong," she snapped at the bartender.

He passed her a glass of flavoured vodka and she downed it in one shot. Laurel was in a corner while a cute guy chatted her up and Connor was flirting with Aiden. _This is so unfair, _she thought to herself. _Where's my cute guy? _She spotted Asher standing in the crowd of people that were actually listening to the guy on the platform. He was cheering him on, completely in his element. Lexi rolled her eyes. As she glanced around the bar, she spotted a familiar face.

_Oh shit, _she thought. It was Fiona Cartwright, a girl that Lexi had gone to high school with. She'd hated her with every fiber of her being- Fiona was the blonde version of Michaela. She always had to be the best at everything. She had to have the better boyfriend, the better grades, and the better life. Lexi suddenly realized that she was sitting alone at a law review party, downing shots of vodka. _I can't let that bitch see me this way_, she realized. Lexi quickly slipped off the barstool and went over to Asher, who was drinking with a couple of friends.

"Lexi! There you are! Want to do a buttery nipple?" Asher grinned, as Lexi quickly squeezed into the space next to him and kissed him hard on the lips. He slid his arm around her and grinned, breaking off the kiss but pulling her into his side. "Someone's horny. You're going to have to wait for a while, babe, I'm not done drinking yet. How about that buttery nipple?"

"I have no idea what that is, but whatever," Lexi replied. "You see that blonde girl over there- she's walking towards us. I used to go to high school with her. Just let me show you off, okay?"

Asher turned to see who Lexi was talking about and let out a low whistle. "She's hot."

Lexi glared at him. "Shut up! Don't you dare hit on her! You just keep your mouth shut and let me do the-"

"Alexis Gray! Wow, this is the last place I thought I'd see you!" Fiona Cartwright chirped as she made her way towards them. Lexi smiled widely and greeted Fiona, giving her a hug before slipping back under Asher's arm.

"Fiona! What a surprise! Are you planning to join the Law Review?" Lexi asked with a fake smile. She knew that Fiona couldn't possibly be a law student. "I didn't know that you went to Middleton. Surely we would have some classes together?"

"Oh, I don't go here," Fiona replied, although Lexi already knew that. Fiona hadn't managed to make it in, whereas _Lexi _was here on a merit scholarship. Already feeling slightly victorious, Lexi beamed at her ex-classmate. "My boyfriend studies here, though. He's on the law review team," she replied proudly. "He's got so many first years trying to join, he doesn't quite know what to do," she giggled, before turning to look at Asher. Lexi realized that she should introduce them.

"Oh—I'm sorry. Asher, this is Fiona Cartwright, we went to high school together. Fiona, this is my boyfriend Asher Millstone. You might have heard of his father, William Millstone? He's a federal judge," she put in, wondering if she was pushing it. But Fiona's smile was tightening and Asher didn't seem to mind her using him. He just looked down at Lexi, amused.

"Oh, that's nice," Fiona muttered, though it didn't sound as though she found it particularly nice. "Have you two been dating long? I never thought you were the type for a long-term relationship, Lexi. My boyfriend Travis and I have been together for about two years now."

_Yeah, you probably sank your claws into the poor chap and won't let go. _"Oh no, no for long," Lexi admitted, determined to make up for the shortness of her supposed relationship. "We met recently, actually. We're both working for Annalise Keating, the defence attorney? She takes a Criminal Law class at Middleton. She picks a few of her best students to work in her firm every year, and Asher and I got chosen. I suppose it was fate." She smiled sweetly up at Asher, who was sipping his drink to hide his laughter. Luckily, Fiona was too upset to notice.

"Well, isn't that nice," Fiona replied. "I should get back to Travis, he's probably looking for me. But we should catch up sometime!"

"Absolutely," Lexi grinned, as Fiona walked away. Once she was out of earshot, she turned back to find Asher smirking at her openly. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" she demanded.

"You're a competitive little bitch, aren't you? Damn, that was one hot chick fight," Asher teased. "It was fate that we both landed up working for Keating, eh? Love at first sight?"

"Shut up," Lexi grumbled, turning away from him. "Finish your drink and come find me."

She spotted Connor sitting a little distance away, sipping a drink and looking entirely too pleased with himself. He grinned when he saw her approaching and made space for her, gesturing towards a corner of the room. "You're just in time for the show," he explained.

Lexi could see Michaela Pratt and her fiancée standing in a corner and talking in low voices. The room was far too loud for anything to be heard, but the expressions on both of their faces made it clear that the conversation wasn't too pleasant. "So, you told her that you slept with Aiden, then."

Connor grinned. "She didn't take it too well. I don't think she had any clue that he had ever been with a guy. Miss my-fiancé-works-for-the-Mayor-of-New-York would never have dated a guy whose past was anything but spotless."

"Ooh, he's getting mad too," Lexi observed, noticing that Aiden didn't seem to be pleading anymore. She started chanting under her breath. "Come on. Dump her-dump her- dump her… and he's gone!" Aiden had walked away, leaving Michaela looking furious.

Lexi turned and high-fived Connor. "Well, this was a rather fruitful evening."

"It was, indeed."

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Lexi lay back in Asher Millstone's bed, trying to catch her breath. They'd both been drunk after the party and she smiled when she saw clothes were strewn all over the bedroom. Her bra was torn- Asher had ripped all the hooks off in his eagerness and it was now lying on the floor, useless. Yet somehow, Lexi found that she didn't care.

"Lexi?" she heard Asher mumble. She turned her head to look at him and saw that he was stretching his arm out, gesturing for her to come closer. She scooted up to him and put her head on his bare chest. "Wow that was amazing. Can we talk about something?"

"Is it about Fiona?" Lexi asked sleepily, rubbing his chest with one of her hands. Damn, he had such nice skin. She was almost jealous of it. "Look, we just used to be really competitive in high school. I wanted her to think I had a perfect, long-term boyfriend. Is it cheap of me to lie?"

Asher snorted. "Like I'm going to reprimand you for that. I tried showing _you _off to my Dad and he didn't even bat an eye. At least one of got some the satisfaction. Personally, I don't even know why you would compete with her. You're better than her in every way."

Lexi looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. "You're trying to flatter me. You want something. We've already had sex and I'm too tired to do it again, so you can forget it," she replied, closing her eyes.

"It's not sex," Asher replied and then paused. "Well, it's related to sex. It's about your underwear."

"_What?"_

"Oh come on, don't look at me that way. It wouldn't kill you to wear some sexier underwear, you know. I bet my _Mom _wears sexier underwear than that." He used a finger to lift up her floral cotton panties. "These are granny panties."

Lexi snatched them back from him. "They're _comfortable. _Excuse me if I don't want to walk around all day with pieces of string getting stuck in my butt cheeks. Just because I'm having sex with you doesn't mean that you get to tell me what to wear."

Asher grinned and rolled her over so he was on top of her, pressing kisses to her neck. "Come on, babe. You know you're sexy. I mean, you manage to turn me on in old people underwear, I can't even imagine what you'd look like in black lace."

"We're not talking about lingerie."

"But-"

"No. Shut up. I'm not having this conversation, Millstone."

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Lexi pushed her way into the courtroom and sat down in between Asher and Connor. She wasn't looking forward to the trial. There was something extremely creepy about bomb mom and even more so about Gabriel Shaw. Looking at him sent chills down her spine, and not in a good way. Just as she took her seat, Michaela sat down in front of her, clearly in a bad temper.

"Watch this," Connor whispered to Lexi before leaning forward to talk to Michaela. "I hooked up with pretty much all the hot guys at boarding school, if it makes you feel any better. Also, I barely remember what his penis looks like." Connor paused and grinned. "Oh no, wait. I still do."

Lexi wished she could see the expression on Michaela's face, but she was facing the front. The way her shoulders tensed showed that it had affected her. She decided to provoke Michaela a little further. "Guess that's what happens when you're with someone for what they have, and not who they are," Lexi replied. "Their dirty secrets come out a little too late for you to run away."

Michaela snapped. She whirled around in her seat and glared at Lexi. "You little hypocrite. Don't you dare comment on my relationship with Aiden, everyone knows you're sleeping with Asher for the money, considering you couldn't have afforded to study here without a scholarship."

There was a pause and Lexi saw red. She resisted the urge to lean over and slap Michaela. "Hey, _bitch_, I got a scholarship on merit. And I'm not sleeping with Asher for his fucking money, he's never so much as bought me dinner. So keep your mouth shut and your nose in your own problems."

Michaela looked amused. She glanced at Asher, who was watching her with this lips pressed together tightly, and then at Lexi. "You're kidding me. You're sleeping with him because you actually _like _him? That's even worse, you're stupider than I thought."

Lexi wanted to respond, but Michaela turned her head back to the front as the prosecution began to announce a witness. Lexi was forced to sit back and feel her cheeks flush red as the two men on either side of her stared at her curiously.

Gabriel Shaw's testimony, however, distracted them all from their personal problems. He turned on Elena on the stand, accusing her of being the mastermind behind the bomb plan. Annalise looked furious, but he stayed calm. He claimed that he loved Elena and he would have done anything to protect her. Despite him finally admitting that he'd been offered early release for his testimony, their case was still screwed.

"We have three hours to rebuild our defence," Annalise said to them outside the courtroom. "Look into forensics, crime tech, the FBI lab. This moment, right now, this is when you prove your worth."

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"You're kidding me," Lexi muttered. "She ran away? What about her husband, and her kids? Why did she get married and have them if she was going to throw them all under the bus for some weirdo cult leader eventually? How is Mr. Murphy going to explain her leaving to his kids?"

Connor shrugged. They'd stopped at the café opposite the courtroom to get some coffee before heading back. Lexi tapped her fingers on the counter as she waited for the order. "I don't know," Connor replied. "But whatever, that's over. I doubt they'll find her now. What I want to know is why the fuck you're sleeping with Asher Millstone."

Lexi sighed. "Connor, don't. It's none of your business. Like you tell me every time you hook up with some guy? Don't be a hypocrite."

"_Michaela Pratt _knew."

"She overheard something Asher said to me."

Connor frowned. "Lexi, if you're having problems with money, you know you can always-"

"_Don't even go there," _Lexi hissed furiously, causing the barista to stare at them over the counter. "Do I look like a fucking prostitute to you, Connor Walsh? We've been friends for years, do you really think I would whore out my body for money?"

"I didn't call you a prostitute," Connor muttered.

"It sure sounded like it. I've never taken _anything _from him, okay? Those flowers he sent me that day were the only time he ever spent money on me, and you fucking remember that."

"I'm not accusing you of anything!" Connor insisted, trying to make her calm down. He knew that Lexi could get extremely touchy when money was involved and he was trying his best not to hurt her feelings. "I just don't understand why you're sleeping with him. He's not your type, he's… Jesus, I can't even think of a word to describe him."

Lexi took a deep breath. "I do not want to have this discussion. Why I'm sleeping with him is my business, not yours. I don't want to talk about it. And for god's sake, I'm not taking money from him. Can we please leave it at this?"

"Fine," Connor muttered. He watched as Lexi tossed change down on the counter and snatched her coffee from the barista, before leaving the café.

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When Grace walked into the apartment later that evening, she saw Lexi sitting alone, staring at the blank screen of the television and a bottle of vodka lying on the coffee table. She raised an eyebrow, as she watched her lift the glass to her lips.

"You hate the taste of vodka," Grace commented lightly.

"I know," Lexi muttered. She didn't sound particularly drunk. "There's more orange juice in this than anything, I'm still sober. I have class tomorrow, I just had a really long day. What about you?"

Grace shrugged. "Fine. I saw your boyfriend downstairs, though. The judge's kid? He looked a little nervous, even though I told him to come in. Asked me to give you this. Did you have a fight or something?"

Lexi took the cardboard box that Grace handed her with a frown. "Asher? He usually just calls and asks _me _to come over, because he knows I have a flatmate." She sighed and set aside the glass of filtered down vodka and opened the box. She blinked at the contents and groaned. "Oh my god. I am going to kill him."

"What?" Grace moved over and peeked in, before reaching inside to lift up a sexy black negligee. It was almost entirely transparent and there was a black lace bra and panty set to go with it. "Well, well. I think someone's trying to drop a hint. You should go over there wearing this, he'll have a heart attack."

Lexi closed her eyes and groaned.

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Asher opened the door with a big grin. "Well, hello there gorg- Hold on. You're not wearing it."

Lexi thrust the box at his chest angrily before storming past him and further inside. She stood in his living room in her jeans and an old t-shirt, a symbol of her resistance. "Of course I'm not fucking wearing it. I will _never _wear it. Exactly what do you think of me?"

"You're angry," Asher said slowly.

"Yes, I'm angry. And I don't expect you to have the brains or tact to figure out _why_, so let me spell it out for you. I told you the other night that I don't want to wear sexy lingerie. My underwear is comfortable and if you have a problem with it, you can stop sleeping with me," Lexi fumed. Her eyes were flashing red and Asher sat down slowly. He was starting to feel a little scared.

"Okay."

"Secondly, this was a pretty dick move considering I just got accused by two people this morning of whoring myself out to you, one of whom you _heard. _Either you don't give a shit or you really think that I'm cheap enough to sleep with you for money. _I don't want your stupid gifts. _We are in a mutual agreement that consists of sex and nothing else. I don't want to feel obligated to you in any way, so stop giving me gifts."

Asher sat up. "I don't understand. You didn't have a problem with the flowers."

"Flowers are different from lingerie. Tell me honestly how much you spent on this," she demanded.

"I'm not telling you-"

"_Asher Millstone, you fucking tell me right now." _

"Fine. Combined, it came up to about $200," he admitted. "And the roses only cost about $20. Look, I get it. I just don't know why you have to worry about it so much. Guys buy their girlfriends lingerie all the time, it's not like I bought you a godforsaken yacht or something."

She blinked at him. "I'm not your girlfriend."

"Well…" Asher shrugged, looking embarrassed. His gaze was tilted towards the floor. "Maybe I'm trying to change your mind about that."

Lexi felt a lump in her throat. She felt bad for losing her temper at him. Yes, he was insensitive and he didn't think about what he was doing a lot of the time. But somewhere in his mind, he'd been trying to show her that he cared. That was why he'd sent her flowers and even tried to introduce her to his parents. She picked up the lingerie box from the floor and set it on the table, slowly sitting next to him on the couch.

"Asher…"

"Look, I _heard _what Michaela said this morning, okay?" he cut her off, sounding annoyed. "And I know she was accusing you of sleeping with me for money and I wanted to tell her that it wasn't like that. That we weren't just _sleeping together_ and that we actually cared about each other, but then I realized that I didn't know if we did. I mean, you told me that it wouldn't even bother you if we both slept with other people, so I kept my mouth shut."

Lexi bit her lip and looked at him. He was avoiding her gaze and she moved closer, taking his hand into hers. "It would bother me if you slept with other girls. I just didn't think there was any way to stop you from doing it, so I figured it was better I not delude myself into thinking we were having some kind of a committed relationship and later feel that you cheated on me."

"Why would I do that?" Asher asked.

"Asher, _come on. _How many serious relationships have you been in?"

He looked thoughtful. "Define serious."

"Millstone, don't make me yell again."

"Fine," he muttered. "All my sexual experiences have been with girls from bars or ended in less than two or three weeks. Are you happy? I've never had a serious girlfriend."

"Exactly."

Asher frowned. "I… I'm not even sure what you just proved to me."

"Look. When you care about a girl and you want her to know, you don't buy her lingerie. You tell her. Using words. Like a normal human being. Otherwise she might think you're buying her gifts to get her to have sex with you. Just look at me and say what you're feeling."

Asher turned and looked at her. His brown eyes were confused, but there was a different emotion in them as well. Lexi couldn't place it but it made her heart skip a beat. "I can't stand the thought of you with another guy. Just thinking about it makes me angry. You're mine," he replied heatedly. "And to be honest, if I have to share you with others, then we might as well end this right now."

Lexi flushed. "Wow, um… there's no need for that. I can be faithful."

Asher grinned. "Yeah?"

"But we need to make certain things clear," Lexi replied, blinking. She'd come here with a purpose and she couldn't leave without addressing that. She gestured towards the lingerie box lying on the table. "Don't ever spend money on me like that again. I told you about my family. I'm sensitive when it comes to stuff like this, and it upsets me. I got accused of being your prostitute twice-"

"Wait, Michaela and who?"

"That doesn't-"

"It was Connor, wasn't it? And you call him your _friend-" _

"Asher, stop it," Lexi snapped. "It doesn't matter what Connor said, that's between me and him. You don't need to buy me expensive gifts to get me to sleep with you. It makes me feel cheap when you do that. Can you understand this?"

Asher sighed. "Yeah, I get it. It won't happen again."

"Thank you." Lexi was still holding his hand and she squeezed it before leaning over to kiss him. Asher pulled her closer, his lips caressing hers softly. It reminded him of the soft kiss they'd shared outside her door the night of his parents' anniversary, but he knew what to do this time. His hands slipped into her hair and he pulled away gently, pressing his forehead to hers.

"Still feeling cheap?" he asked her.

Lexi smiled. "No."

"Good. So is there any chance you'll put on the-"

"_No._"

Asher sighed. "It was worth a try."

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**A/N – Thank you so much for your reviews! It's really encouraging! I'm glad you liked me revamping the story, I'm considerably more happy with it myself, which helps me write. **

**SeriousAliysa- I can't think of a better title. Any suggestions? :P**

**Alice – How did you guess that I was going to have Michaela bring it up in front of a clueless Connor? I honestly have no idea how to include Wes more in my story. I've been keeping away from his storyline for some reason so if you have any suggestions, do let me know. **

**I know I haven't been including the real time scenes and that's because I don't know where the show is going to take the plot. For now, I'm sticking to the flashbacks leading up to Sam's murder. I don't want to write something and then have the show make some amazing plot twist that renders my writing useless. But once the next episodes come out and we learn more, I think I'll do an entire chapter on what Lexi was doing the night Sam was killed. **

**Thanks! Leave your thoughts! **


	4. Let's Get to Scooping

**Episode 4**

Lexi slid into the courtroom, her hair still wet from having driven home from Asher's and showered late in the morning. No matter how many times she told him, he never seemed to wake her up in time. She took the seat beside Laurel, who was flipping through sheets of paper.

"Damn, don't tell me you've started studying for Torts," Lexi muttered, peeking at what Laurel was doing. "You've even made an outline? When did you get the time to do that, that's insane!"

Laurel shrugged and smiled. "This is actually one of Kan's old outlines."

"Oh. The cute guy you hooked up with at the Law Review party, right? Damn, I need to get myself one of those," Lexi muttered. She straightened up in her seat, wondering if she should ask Laurel for a copy of the outline and whether she would even give it to her, when Asher took the seat next to her. He smiled at Lexi and she grinned back.

"You made it here before me," he commented, surprised. "How do you do that?"

Lexi smiled. "I don't drive like an old granny," she replied before noticing that Laurel was giving them weird looks. Maybe it was too soon to start flirting in front of other people. She cleared her throat and sat back, just as Connor slipped into the courtroom. He pushed at Asher to move up and quickly took his seat.

"Really, dude?" Asher muttered. "Isn't your ass tired?"

"Who says it's my ass?" Connor retorted. Lexi looked at Connor curiously. He'd been sleeping with Oliver for a considerably long amount of time; pretty much as long as she'd been with Asher. For a guy who claimed that he didn't do boyfriends, he was being pretty faithful. But Lexi knew better than to ask Connor if he had feelings for Oliver. He would just deny it.

Lexi watched as Annalise Keating tried to ensure Rebecca Sutter's confession tape was not considered in setting her bail amount. Wes looked particularly tense; he was watching the proceedings with a sort of intensity that made Lexi think he was taking it very personally. What was up between him and Rebecca? She hardly ever shot him a second glance; then again, Rebecca never seemed to look at anybody twice. There was a lack of emotion in her eyes that was almost disturbing.

"I'm setting bail at a million dollars," the judge decided. Lexi's eyes widened. There was no way Rebecca would be able to afford a million-dollar bail. She watched as their client was taken away.

"A million? That's a lot of lap dances," Asher commented, as they all got to their feet. Lexi grinned and subtly slapped his ass as they slid out into the aisle. He turned around and looked at her in surprise.

"I bet I could give you a million-dollar lap dance," she whispered, before biting her lip and pushing past him. Lexi could feel his eyes on her behind as she moved to catch up with Laurel. She was going to take a shot at asking her for Kan's Torts outline.

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"Aww, looks like the trophy's gonna be in play!" Asher chimed cheerfully. They were all lounging around the sitting room, waiting while Annalise finished talking to Wes in her office. She'd come back from visiting Rebecca in jail with a furious expression and now she was yelling at Wes. Clearly the puppy had screwed up. Again.

"He advocated for his client," Laurel replied in her usual righteous manner. Lexi frowned. The sound of Laurel's voice was starting to irritate her. Did she always have to pretend like she cared about other people more than herself? Not to mention that she'd flat out refused to share a copy of Kan's outline. What had happened to her holier-than-thou attitude? Or maybe she was a just hypocritical bitch and on the inside, she was no different from Michaela.

"Do you have to open your mouth when you say stuff like that?" Connor snapped.

Michaela, who had been standing in a corner, suddenly spotted what Laurel was doing. She made a beeline for her, eyes glinting. "Is that a Tillman outline?" she demanded.

"What?" Laurel asked warily.

"Ward Tillman, he won the Kepley diploma all three years at Middleton. His outlines are the Holy Grail!" Michaela gushed.

"This is one of Kan's old outlines," Laurel replied.

"Oh, your boyfriend's giving you his outlines now?" Asher muttered. "What's next, herpes?"

Michaela ignored him, beaming widely at Laurel. It was clear that she was going to suck up to her. _I need popcorn for this, _Lexi mused. If she couldn't get the outline from Laurel, there was no way Michaela could pull it off. Laurel despised her. "How about we trade?" Michaela suggested sweetly. "I'll give you everything from my Property study group!"

Laurel raised an eyebrow. "No."

"Laurel, the exam's in three days!"

"And that's probably the first time you've gotten my name right," Laurel replied. Michaela frowned and caught the smug grin that Lexi was giving her. She stood up and walked away quickly. Lexi propped her feet up on the coffee table, feeling relieved that at least Michaela was in a bad position too. She wasn't the only one.

Frank and Bonnie were standing at the doorway, smirking at each other. Lexi didn't like the way Frank grinned under that ugly beard. "Sounds like it's shooting star time," he said to Bonnie.

"Who's your pick?" Bonnie asked eagerly.

"Hair-gel's got ice in his veins," Frank commented, looking at Connor. "Douche-face is too dumb to care. Scholarship-girl seems too cocky to snap so soon." He added, looking at Lexi. She glared right back at him, feeling her cheeks burn. What an asshole. She'd rip that beard off his smirking face if she could.

"Wallflower's pretty sensitive," Bonnie mused.

"My bet's on Prom Queen," Frank finished, leaving Michaela gaping at him. "She's wound way too tight."

"What the hell's a shooting star?" Michaela demanded. Frank was right, she looked on the verge of exploding. Before anyone could answer, though, the door to Annalise Keating's office burst open and the boss herself walked out.

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"Always wanted to study finance," Lexi said to herself, as she looked around the office of Trudeau Securities. There had been a time when she'd considered taking economics and finance as a part of her education, but she'd later decided against it. The idea of stocks and trading still fascinated her, though.

"Look at this place," Asher muttered. People were running around, there were phone cords all over the place, papers flying in the air and a general atmosphere of chaos. It gave Lexi a euphoric feeling of rush, although she could see that the others just looked shocked. "It's a jungle in here."

"Looks like my kind of party," Connor mused. Lexi grinned and tried to sneak peeks at a few desks as they walked through. FBI was all over the place, making the mess even worse. In the middle of all the chaos, Marren Trudeau stood on a cardboard box in killer heels and was answering back to a slightly irritable-looking detective.

"Your goons are looting this place," she announced, "Like it's a damn fire sale, and you have no right!"

"Miss Trudeau, this warrant says otherwise," the detective replied, brandishing a sheet of paper. Marren rolled her eyes before taking the paper from him.

"Oh, this warrant?" she asked. Fishing a lighter out of her pocket calmly, she flicked it and set the edge of the warrant on fire. She smiled and held it up while all her employees cheered. _Wow, _Lexi thought. _That is one badass woman. _Unfortunately, Annalise stepped forward and helped put the fire out before turning to the furious detective.

"Annalise Keating, the exact charge?" she asked calmly.

"Your client purchased stock in Edson Pharmaceuticals in advance of a favourable FDA ruling arising from insider knowledge," the detective replied.

"Was any of that in English?' Asher joked, looking at Lexi. But she was still watching Marren Trudeau with big eyes and didn't hear him. He frowned. Not the sort of woman he thought Lexi would admire, but clearly he was wrong. They all watched as the detective had a laptop brought to the table and played a video of Marren embracing another man.

"Do you have any idea who that might be?" he asked Marren Trudeau.

"Elias Edson," she replied, not looking particularly ashamed. The version of her in the video began to moan and Asher's grin widened as he watched her get bent over the table. Marren turned to look at them. "Well, take some notes, kids, because this is what Pilates can do for you."

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"She's amazing," Lexi gushed as they entered Annalise Keating's office. "Imagine putting herself through school and reaching those heights; did you see the way she set that warrant on fire? I mean, I guess when you've achieved so much on your own, you never have to bend down to anyone."

Asher grinned. "I could see her bending pretty well in the video."

Lexi rolled her eyes at him. Of course that would be the only thing he noticed about Marren Trudeau. "And she knows how to have fun too. How many women manage to be so successful in their careers and still manage to be as free-spirited and caring as-"

Michaela interrupted her. "We get it. You have a girl-crush on Trudeau. Can you please shut up now?"

"You're just jealous because a middle-aged woman is more flexible than you," Lexi replied coolly. "Like you could ever pull off the positions she was doing in the video." She watched in pleasure as Michaela flushed red. Although she'd supposedly gotten back together with her fiancé after the Law Review party, Michaela was still a little touchy about people mentioning her relationship and Lexi enjoyed riling her up. "Is that what the problem was with you and Aiden? You were too much of a prude in bed?"

"That's none of your business," Michaela replied sharply. "Besides, if I can't pull off those positions, then you certainly can't."

Asher grinned lecherously, looking at Lexi. His eyes raked her up and down before glancing back at Michaela. "I wouldn't be so sure about that," he put in mischievously.

Michaela made a face. "Oh God. Please. The last thing I need right now is to hear about what you two do in bed. Just leave me alone," she snapped and pushed past them into Annalise's sitting room. Lexi quickly leaned up to kiss Asher's cheek. She'd never actually done anything like what Marren had done with that Edson character- but they both liked making Michaela uncomfortable by referring to their sex life.

Asher lowered his voice. "You know, if you want to give what Marren and Edson did a shot…"

"We'll see," Lexi replied.

They gathered in the sitting room so that Annalise could address them. She explained how preliminary hearings were usually won by the prosecution. The only way that they could ensure Marren's case didn't reach trial was to find the real culprit themselves. Lexi gulped as she looked at the stack of files in Frank's arms. She'd been hoping they were done for the day so she could study Torts. Looks like they weren't.

"There are 52 employees at Trudeau Securities. Your job is to interview them, pretending its case research until you find us a traitor," he replied, handing out a couple of the files to each of them. Lexi flinched as he slammed her share down in her arms. She lifted the cover of the top file and saw a picture of the employee, as well as their bio-data. "Happy hunting."

"How do we know it's one of her employees?" Wes asked innocently. Annalise stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"I don't. I just know everyone hates their boss."

Michaela started bitching the moment Annalise exited the room. She was more stressed than any of them about the Torts exam, and she was starting to lose it. Lexi fidgeted in her seat. She wasn't about to blow a fuse like Michaela, but neither was she as relaxed about the Torts exam as Connor and Laurel seemed to be. Maybe she should start worrying too.

"Am I the only one that's psyched about this?" Asher interrupted their discussion about the exam, as he flipped open the first file in his bunch. "We get to be spies! And score, I got a cute chick!" The picture of his first employee was of a pretty young brunette. Lexi caught a quick glimpse of her. _Shit, she's hot. _She frowned and opened the first of her own files to find a picture of a large black woman. Although the photo was cut off at her chest, Lexi could see hints of enormous breasts.

"Asher, would you make some coffee, please?" Lexi asked him with a smile. She sat on the couch next to him and put a hand on his leg. "I know I usually do it, but I'm so tired today."

Asher tore his eyes away from the brunette in his file. "What? Yeah, okay." He dropped the files and went into the kitchen. Lexi acted fast. She quickly took the file of the pretty brunette and slipped it into the bottom of her own pile, before adding the first file of hers to his. Then she leaned back and started to flip through her own employees. She could feel Connor's eyes on her.

"What?" she asked him.

Connor glanced at the files that she'd just switched, and then looked back up at her. "Nothing."

"Good."

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Asher Millstone was finishing the last drops of his coffee when he heard the doorbell ring. Wondering who could possibly be here first thing in the morning, he set the mug down and opened the door.

"Missed me that much, huh?" he asked a fully-dressed Lexi. She hadn't spent the night- they both had to study for Torts and agreed that they could make up for lost time after the exam. Not to mention that they had to spend today interviewing Marren Trudeau's employees. "It's only been like, 12 hours, babe."

Lexi rolled her eyes. "I know that. Do you know how much work I can get done when I don't stay over at your place? I did laundry, studied for Torts, prepped to interview Marren's employees and I had time to dry my hair this morning."

Asher grinned, putting an arm on the doorframe and preventing her from walking past him into the apartment. He leaned down so his face was inches away from hers. "But you also have to masturbate alone. Tell me; do you think about me when your fingers are between your legs? Do you imagine that I'm the one pleasuring you?"

"I'll never tell," Lexi replied simply, with a mischievous smile. She held up a small duffel bag that she was carrying. "Find somewhere to put this, will you?"

"What is it?"

"A few changes of clothes," Lexi replied. When Asher blinked at her, she sighed. "Don't freak out, it's not some overrated relationship step. I'm just sick of having to run home and shower in the mornings when we have to go to Keating's. So I want to be able to shower here and have clean clothes. You don't even need to make space in a drawer, just throw it under the bed or something."

Asher grinned and took the bag. "I'll make space. Somebody's getting a little serious, huh?"

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I'm not trying to move in with you or something."

"No," he replied. He gestured for her to follow him as he went into his bedroom and opened a drawer. He started to move around some clothes and make enough space for the bag. "But I think you're getting a little attached to me. I know what you did with the files yesterday."

Lexi flushed. "What?"

"You took the hot girl out of my pile," Asher replied. There was a huge, smug grin on his face. "You were jealous because you were afraid that something might happen while I interviewed her, you sneaky little bitch."

"I didn't-"

Asher grinned, before slipping an arm around Lexi. His hand smoothly slid down her back and gripped her ass. "Don't worry, babe. I think it's hot. It's not your fault you want me all to yourself, I can totally understand that." He leaned down and kissed her flaming red cheek. "Jealousy is sexy on you."

Lexi bit her lip. "Shut up. We're going to be late."

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Interviewing employees was exhausting. Lexi was tired just after she got through the first two; the first being a rather old woman who seemed to be slightly hard of hearing and kept making Lexi repeat her questions, followed by a middle-aged man with a paunch that was more interested in his burger and fries than her.

"How's it going?" she asked Wes as she saw him in the corridor. He was waiting outside an office, scratching his head absent-mindedly with a pencil. His notepad was full and he smiled at Lexi.

"Not bad. It's hard to get their attention, they're so busy," he replied. "This one went for lunch; she's not in her office so I'll probably have to wait till she gets back. You headed somewhere?"

"I was hoping to get some lunch myself. Do you want to come?" she asked.

"Nah, I should wait for this employee to get back. It could be any minute. Thanks, though."

"Have you seen Connor?" she asked.

Wes shook his head. "Not really. But Asher's near the other set of cubicles."

He gave her a funny look and Lexi smiled back forcefully. She was suddenly reminded that the puppy knew she was sleeping with Asher too. Lexi wondered if Keating had any idea, and if she would even care that two of the students she'd employed in her firm were in a relationship. Was it unprofessional? Lexi hadn't considered that her job might be at risk if Keating found out. Then again, Keating probably wouldn't give a shit unless it affected their work in some way, and it wouldn't. Lexi would make sure of that.

Lexi spotted Asher standing near one of the cubicles and talking to a woman. Their voices floated over to her clearly and she smiled to herself. "You not here to talk about my pussies," the woman said crudely. "What do you want?"

"You mean besides world peace?" Asher asked in an attempt to be charming. His goofy smile dropped when he noticed the expression on her face. "How is it working for Marren? Just between us? Seems like she can be a real ball-buster."

"Would you call a man a ball-buster?" the woman demanded. "I'm guessing no, Mr. Can't-stop-staring-at-my-boobs!"

Lexi couldn't resist a giggle. Asher heard her and his eyes flickered over to the sight of her standing a few feet away, one hand covering her mouth to stifle her laughter. He stiffened and cleared his throat, turning his attention back to the woman. Lexi turned when she felt a tap on her shoulder. There was a pretty girl standing behind her and Lexi recognised her as the employee whose file she'd replaced in Asher's stack.

"Hi, are you one of the ones that works for Keating?" the woman asked. She was even prettier in person and Lexi was glad she'd taken her file away from Asher.

Lexi nodded. "I am. You're Janice, right? I'm probably going to interview you later today."

"That's fine. But I was going to suggest that you help your colleague out over there," Janice said, nodding her head towards Asher. He was starting to look more and more uncomfortable by the second. "She's going to eat him alive in a few moments and it would be a pity. He's cute."

Lexi forced a smile at Janice, who walked away. Then she sighed and turned back to Asher. Looks like her fun was over, she was going to have to help him out.

"You wanna ask me out on a date?" the woman was demanding Asher. "Then ask me on a date. But don't just take a sneak peek at the goodies without buying me dinner."

Asher looked frustrated now. He was trying to explain how he wasn't actually trying to look at her chest when he felt an arm slide into his. Lexi had come and he almost breathed a sigh of relief as she slipped her hand into his and kissed his cheek. "There you are, sweetie, I've been looking for you. Everyone's heading out for lunch. Are you done here?"

Asher nodded, stuffing his notebook in his pocket. "Absolutely. Let's just-"

"Hold it." The woman was looking between Asher and Lexi. "Is he your boyfriend, young lady?"

Lexi smiled politely. "Yes he is, ma'am."

"Hmph." The woman did not look impressed. "Well, your boy here's got a wandering eye. You keep a close one on him."

"I will," Lexi promised and then tugged Asher out of the office before she burst into giggles.

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Lexi was curled up on Asher Millstone's couch, her Torts textbook in one hand and the other reaching for a huge bowl of chips wedged in next to her on the sofa. Her feet were in Asher's lap and he rubbed them gently while flipping through his own book. Lexi had thought that Asher would be terrible to study with; he was always distracted and usually cracked untimely jokes. But once he started studying, it was actually hard to distract him. Lexi rubbed her foot against the front of his pants. He barely noticed.

"How far are you?" she asked, breaking the silence. Asher's eyebrows furrowed before he looked up at her and blinked. He seemed tired.

"I just finished assessment of damages in personal injury cases," he replied, flipping a page. "I've got a shitload left in negligence, though, that stuff goes on forever. What about you?" His fingers tickled the soles of her feet and Lexi twitched.

"I'm on causation. It's pretty basic shit. Stop doing that to my feet, you're driving me crazy."

"Ticklish, huh?"

Lexi pulled her feet away from him and sat up. She moved the bowl of chips and then curled into Asher's side. "God, I'm so tired. I can't concentrate. Do you think the others are studying? I know Laurel started early and Connor was following some lead for Annalise…"

Asher shrugged. "I don't know. You'll do fine."

"Yeah, I guess. Michaela's little episode today made me feel better," Lexi said with a grin. Asher was smiling too. "Damn, she totally lost it. Trying to steal Laurel's outline? How can someone be so smart and stupid at the same time?"

"She's not stupid, she's just desperate," Asher replied. He looked down at his book. "I take it you're calling it a night with Torts, then?"

"Yeah," Lexi replied, before lifting her arms and stretching. "I'll head home if you still want to study. My roommate keeps eating all my food because she says I'm never around anyway. I should go check on my ice cream stash. And call Connor."

Asher frowned. "Why do you have to call him?"

"Well, I haven't really talked to him since..."

"Since he called you a whore, right? Are you kidding me? At the very least, he should be the one calling you," Asher muttered with a frown. "I'd have socked him in the face if I'd been there. Why do you put up with him?"

Lexi smiled. "I don't know. Why do I put up with you?"

"Because I'm a dream in bed. But you're not getting any of that from _him, _so I don't see the point."

"He's got a nicer ass than you."

Asher's eyes widened. "What the- fu- he does not! Have you _seen _my ass, woman? Old ladies stop in the street to stare at my ass, okay? I'm smart, talented and charming, and he's a conceited bastard with flabby butt cheeks."

"Whatever makes you feel better, sweetie," Lexi said, getting to her feet and leaning down to kiss Asher on the cheek. "You have a nice time studying Torts and jacking yourself off to sleep thinking about me. I'm going to go see Connor and his dreamy ass."

"What…" Asher trailed off as Lexi gathered her things and walked to the door. "Hey! Send me nudes!"

"Mine or Connor's?" Lexi called out. Asher glared at her and she laughed before closing the door behind her.

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"Paxton?" Lexi muttered. She was still trying to get her head around the fact that Marren's cute assistant was behind the crime. He'd seemed so grateful to her for everything she'd done for him. Then again, no one else could have been close enough to her to pull it off. "Wow. I didn't see that coming."

Wes nodded. They were all waiting outside while Annalise, Frank and Connor talked to Marren and showed her the recording of what Paxton had said about her. "I don't think anyone did."

"What I want to know is how Connor even figured it out," Michaela mumbled bitterly. "How does he do stuff like recording calls and tracing them? It's illegal. Is he paying somebody to do it for him? Spit it out, Alexis, I know you know."

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what makes you think I'd tell you something like that."

"But you know who he's paying."

Lexi frowned. She knew that Oliver had probably traced the call; that was where Connor had been when she called him last night. He'd cut her off rather abruptly, but Lexi thought that was because she'd interrupted them having sex or something. _But how did he record the call? _Had he slipped a microphone under Paxton's desk? Lexi had an uncomfortable feeling that Connor had slept with him to get what he wanted. But surely he wouldn't do that to Oliver?

"How's preparing for Torts going, Michaela?" Lexi asked, deciding to distract the bitch from Connor. As she'd hoped, Michaela's face fell. Her eyes narrowed and she turned away to talk to Wes. _Phew. _There was a loud buzzing noise and Lexi pulled out her phone to check her messages. It was her Mom, asking if she could make it home that weekend.

"Whoa!" Wes yelled, looking up. "Did something just-"

Lexi followed his gaze, but couldn't see anything. "What?"

"I just saw someone fall from up there."

Michaela, Asher and Laurel all looked shocked. "But- but up there is Marren's office. Are you serious, Wes, did you really see someone fall?"

"I swear I did."

They all moved closer to a crowd of people that had gathered around the body. Lexi barely caught a glimpse of a figure in a formal shirt before she closed her eyes and turned around. If someone had really jumped, then she didn't want to see the dead body. Asher and Wes pushed their way through the crowd to see who it was, and came back looking grim.

"Paxton took a swan dive," Asher announced. "Or maybe Marren pushed him, I don't know. Woman over there called an ambulance, but there's no point. His neck is snapped and there's blood about ten feet in every direction, he's as dead as they can get."

Lexi took a deep breath to try and stop the dizziness. Her head began to spin and she reached out to keep herself upright, grabbing Wes' arm. He looked startled but helped her steady herself. "Whoa. Are you okay, Lexi?"

"Fine," she muttered, quickly standing up by herself. She hated how weak she looked. "I'm fine."

Marren Trudeau burst out of the building, followed closely by Annalise and Connor. She looked devastated and ran over to the body immediately. Connor stood quietly at a distance. He was in shock and Lexi slowly walked over to him, slipping an arm into his.

"How did it happen?" she whispered.

"He jumped," Connor croaked. Lexi squeezed his arm. There were very few times when she had seen Connor Walsh this upset. His lower lip was trembling. "Marren freaked out when she found out it was him and he got really upset. He just sat on the window and fell back. It was…"

"It's not your fault," Lexi said.

"I slept with him last night. I recorded him confessing, I never thought…"

"Exactly. You didn't know. He brought this on himself, Connor. He betrayed a woman who trusted him and then he couldn't deal with the consequences of his actions. If not because of you, he would have been caught some other way."

"I _mocked _him, I…"

He fell silent and Lexi did too, keeping a firm grip on his hand.

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"Flavoured vodka," Connor muttered as he watched Lexi pour into two small glasses. They were sitting in her apartment, the television turned down low to some obnoxious teen drama series. Neither of them even look at it. "You're such a girl. What is this shit- Green apple?" he read off the label.

"Hey, it's all I've got," Lexi replied. "Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it," he grumbled, snatching the glass from her. Liquid sloshed inside. "I shouldn't be drinking too much anyway. We have class tomorrow. Can I crash here tonight? Will your roommate mind?"

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding? She thinks you're the sexiest guy ever. She'd let you sleep on her bed, if you wanted to."

Conner smirked. "The couch is fine."

"Don't give me that smug grin," Lexi said. "I didn't bring it up this morning because you were in shock, but I still can't believe you slept with Paxton to get information out of him. Connor, I know you'll go to great lengths to get what you want, so will I. But I never pegged you for being unfaithful."

Connor shifted in his seat and frowned. "Who said I was being unfaithful? I'm not married. I can sleep with whoever I want. You're the one who told me to stay out of your sex life, so stay out of mine."

"I said that because you were accusing me of being a whore," Lexi replied calmly. "Which you never even apologized for, by the way, but whatever. You've been really happy with Oliver. I've seen that. You were so upset that day you had to cancel on him. You don't usually show that much emotion for a guy."

"It's just sex."

"No it's not."

"Yes, it is! I have never even seen him outside of his apartment! We have sex _every _time we meet. We don't have 'how was your day' conversations. It's just sex. I would know," Connor snapped. He took a large sip, emptying his shot and grabbing the bottle to pour more. Apparently his hatred for green apple overcame the need for alcohol.

Lexi nodded. Maybe it was better if she backed off. She'd chosen the wrong day to have this conversation with him. "Okay. I'm sorry. I just wanted to be sure that you're not throwing away what could be a good relationship to score some points with Annalise."

Connor sighed and rolled his eyes. "I know. But honestly. Oliver and I have never talked about being exclusive so you have nothing to worry about. We can sleep with other guys."

"Are you sure he thinks that?"

"I… come on, Lex. I can't believe you're even making me explain this. I know you believe the same thing. Isn't that what you're doing with that nutcase Millstone right now? Just because you sleep with him repeatedly doesn't mean you can't do the same with someone else."

Lexi fidgeted. "Actually…"

"Oh god, you're kidding me," Connor cried. His eyebrows were in danger of disappearing into his hairline. "He's your _boyfriend _now? Do you guys have like, candlelight dinners and stuff? What do you even talk to baby-face about?"

"Shut up, Connor."

Connor rolled his eyes and poured himself another shot. "Yeah, well, you don't like me talking about your relationship, I don't like you talking about mine."

"That's not talking about my relationship, that's belittling it."

"You're the one that invited me over here to drink and then started accusing me of cheating. So sorry if I'm not feeling particularly amiable right now."

Lexi fell silent. She watched as Connor downed one more shot. His eyes were red and her anger dissipated slightly into pity. He didn't mean the things he said. He was going through a lot and he became an asshole under stress, Lexi knew that. She stayed silent, quietly sipping her drink. Connor was right. Green apple vodka was disgusting. There was a long silence as the figures in the television chattered meaninglessly.

Connor was the first to speak. "I'm sorry," he said slowly. "I know you're just trying to look out for me. But I'm fine. You don't need to do that."

Lexi sighed. "I get it. It…it was none of my business anyway. I wasn't trying to mother you or something."

"Yeah, well. Maybe I need a mother sometimes," Connor admitted with a smile. Lexi grinned and reached over to ruffle his hair. He swatted her hand away quickly and pointed a finger at her. "Whoa. Stay away from the hair. That is not permission to touch the hair."

"Sorry."

Connor took another shot and set the glass down. "Sometimes you're a better mother to me than my own mother. She never cares enough to ask about my relationships."

"You're drunk. Don't say something you'll regret."

Connor shook his head, although he could feel the alcohol getting to him. "No, I'm serious, Lexi. You're like… you're like that big sister that might seem annoying and bossy but when the time comes and you're getting bullied or something, she'll be the one to protect you."

"Your drunken affection is flattering."

"Did you know," Connor asked her slowly, sliding further back onto the sofa. "Did you know that in my whole life, you're the only person that was ever happy when I came out to them? Like, _ever. _My parents were horrified. Some of my friends were shocked, some people were like, yeah, whatever. But you're the only person that was genuinely… happy. Why?"

Lexi sighed and moved the vodka out of his reach. And he called _her _a lightweight. "I was a 12 year old girl, Connor. I didn't know what being gay meant. I thought you were going to come shoe shopping with me and paint my nails."

Connor wrinkled his nose. "Ew."

"Yeah, well, I watched too many low-budget sitcoms. The girl's gay best friend is usually just there for fashion and dating advice. My hopes were dashed when I actually took you to a shoe store and you ditched me to go to McDonald's."

"There was a cute guy working there," Connor replied. He grabbed one of the cushions on the sofa and lay his head down, snuggling into it. "And I'm not hopeless. I dress better than your _boyfriend. _His ties are ugly. Does he know that his ties are ugly? How do you even look at them?"

"Well, he's usually not wearing them during sex," Lexi muttered. She glanced up and saw that Connor hadn't heard her. He was snuggled into the cushion and his eyes were closed. "Wow, you must be exhausted. Let me get you a blanket."

"Not cold," Connor muttered. He reached down and started to unbuckle his pants. Lexi sighed and got up to retrieve a spare blanket for him. When she came back, she saw that he had kicked his pants off and was lying in his shirt and underwear. She covered him quickly.

"Whoa there, cowboy. Calm down. Grace will have a heart attack, this isn't Oliver's."

He pulled the blanket up to his chin. "Did I really cheat on Oliver?"

"I don't know."

"I'm sorry."

Lexi sighed, and moved to turn the light off. Once the room was dark, she picked up the empty bottle of vodka and dumped it in the garbage before moving to her own room. Her head was buzzing pleasantly too. Hopefully she'd get a good night's sleep.

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"Where are you going?" Laurel asked Michaela, as she watched her start to pack her stuff. They were sitting in Annalise's home again, sorting out the files for the Trudeau case. It had been exhausting, but they'd finally managed to get those who were responsible to confess. Annalise knew what she was doing. Now the paperwork.

"We have 14 hours till Torts," Michaela said heatedly, as she shoved a file into her handbag. She looked just as panicked as ever and Lexi smiled. Despite her own worries about the exam, it always helped to see Michaela look a little more freaked out that she herself was. "I'm going to study."

"Will this help?" Asher asked, holding up a thick bunch of papers in front of his face. He smiled widely as he lowered them and looked at the expressions on all of their faces. Michaela dropped her file on the table.

"The Tillman outline?" she whispered.

"Called my cousin. Turns out he's in an eating club with a guy at Princeton." He smiled and set his bag down on top of a few cardboard boxes, revealing that it was full of the outlines. "So who wants a copy?"

There was a brief moment of chaos as Michaela's eyes went wide and she rushed forward to grab a copy. Lexi was frozen in her seat. Was Asher for real? He had the Holy Grail of outlines and he was just going to hand them away to someone like Michaela? She made eye contact with him and gave him a _what the fuck _look but Asher was prepared. He jumped in front of the bag, preventing Michaela from reaching it. "Suckas! You think I'm going to let you all bust my curve on the exam? What?"

Michaela looked furious, but she was cut off by Bonnie entered the room with a CD in her hand. Everyone fell silent and looked at her. "Movie time," she said.

Lexi followed Asher as they walked into the living room. She lowered her voice and slipped her arm into his quickly. "Babe, you're gonna give me a copy of that later, right?"

Asher pulled out his phone and pretended to check it. "Funny. I was just looking for the nudes you were supposed to send me last night, and uh… I never got them. Isn't that weird?"

Lexi glared at him. "Very funny."

Asher pulled out a copy of the Tillman outline and dangled it in front of her face. "But I'll forgive you. It's all yours, on one condition."

"What's the condition?"

"I want that million dollar lap dance."

Lexi bit her lip seductively and grabbed his tie, pulling his face down closer to hers. Her lips ghosted over Asher's. "It's a deal."

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Lexi moaned as Asher's lips hit the sweet spot on her neck. Her fingers were twisted tightly into his hair as he kissed his way down her throat, and started on her collarbone, getting dangerously close to her breasts. She could feel his erection against her thigh.

It had been a long day; what with the Torts exam and attending another hearing about Rebecca's bail. Luckily, the confession tape had worked; the bail had been reduced to a hundred thousand, Lexi had never seen Wes look so happy. He had it bad for her.

She'd planned to go home and get some rest; but considering that Asher had chosen tonight to cash in on his payment for the Tillman outline, she'd had to go over to his. She barely got halfway through the lap dance before Asher lost it though; he'd let out a loud growl and shoved her onto the bed, putting any opportunity for dancing at an end. The music was still playing; neither of them cared enough to turn it off.

"Don't rip it," Lexi moaned as Asher's hands reached around to undo her bra. No matter how amazing he was in bed, he was absolutely incapable of unclipping a bra during sex. Two of them had already been ripped to shreds. Lexi shoved him back a little and reached behind her to undo the bra herself. Asher stared as her bare chest came into view and moaned.

"You're driving me crazy, Lexi."

Lexi laughed, moving forward to kiss him. "I don't know why you asked for a lap dance if you're not going to let me finish it."

"I can't wait that long," he pressed his lips tightly to hers again as she helped him remove his shirt. Just as it hit the floor, though there was a loud buzz and Lexi's phone vibrated on the bed. She pulled back and reached behind her to grab it. "Come on. Now?" Asher demanded as he unbuckled his pants.

"Sorry. It might be my parents," Lexi replied. She quickly opened the message, and saw that it was from Connor.

_You were right. Oliver kicked me out. Can I come over? _

Lexi sighed and closed her eyes. The world would be so much simpler if people just listened to her in the first place.

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**A/N – I'm sorry this chapter took a while. It's kind of long and watching the episode side-by-side while I write this makes it harder to write but I'm trying hard to stick to the show's storyline. I've never written something like this before so please be patient. **

**A huge thank you too all my reviewers! You guys are great, it really encourages me when I get feedback. I personally can't wait for the show to restart so I can really get a grip on where I want this story to go. Till then, keep leaving suggestions and opinions!**

**Next chapter may take a while too. Sorry. Happy New Year, everyone!**


	5. We're Not Friends

**Episode 5**

Lexi awoke to the sound of her phone ringing. She opened her eyes and fumbled around the pillow, trying to find it. She could see Asher stirring on the other side of the bed. He groaned and threw an arm over his eyes to shield himself from the light streaming in through the window. "What's that noise?" he moaned. "Turn it off."

"I can't find it," Lexi muttered. Her phone was usually under her pillow but she couldn't feel it anywhere. It rang again and Asher groaned once more.

"Shit. I think I'm lying on it." Lexi watched as a half-naked Asher wriggled around under the covers and finally extracted Lexi's phone from somewhere near his legs. He clumsily pushed it towards her before plopping his head back onto the pillow. "Here. Just turn it off."

Lexi sat up and answered the phone. Asher was lying on the pillow and watching her out of one eye. She cleared her throat to get the sleep out of her voice. It was her Dad. He hated it when she slept in late. "Hey Pop."

"Morning Lexi," her father's voice said calmly. "Were you still asleep? We thought you'd be here by now so your mother asked me to check up on you. But I see someone slept through the alarm."

"What?" she asked blankly, before suddenly remembering. "Oh no, it's Saturday. Pop, I'm so sorry, I forgot about breakfast! I had this huge Torts exam yesterday and I haven't slept properly in days because of this case with Annalise… I'm so sorry. I'll be there in half an hour."

David Gray cut her off. "No, don't do that. You sound exhausted. What did I tell you about getting a good night's sleep? I just wish you'd told your Mom you couldn't make it. She made a pretty amazing breakfast. Here, why don't you talk to her?"

Lexi waited while her father handed the phone to her mother. Asher was sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but Lexi placed a finger on her lips urgently. There was no need for her parents to know where she was. He raised an eyebrow but got out of bed and slipped into the bathroom. Lexi's mother finally came to the phone.

"Hello dear."

"I'm so sorry about breakfast, Mom," Lexi apologized.

"That's all right. I know you're working hard. Tell you what. I'll pack some and your father and I will come over and drop it off. I hate to see all the food go to waste and I'm sure Grace would enjoy it too."

Lexi blanched. There was no way she could drive home in time to get there before her parents. Asher's place was further from her apartment than her parents' home. She could tell Grace to cover for her… but she'd just told her Dad that she was in bed. Maybe it was time to come clean. "Um, Mom. I'm not exactly at my apartment. I, uh, stayed over at a friend's last night."

Lexi didn't hear what her Mom said next because the bathroom door opened and Asher walked out. He was still rubbing his sleepy eyes. "I'm going to put on some coffee. Do you want some?" he asked. At Lexi's wide eyed expression, he realized that she was still talking to her parents. "Oh. Sorry."

"Who was that?" Lexi's mother asked slowly. "Was that Connor?"

Lexi had been hoping that she could get out of the situation without blatantly lying to her parents, but that didn't seem to be working. Besides, she could never use Connor as an alibi for spending the night with Asher. He'd just flat-out refuse to cover for her. "No, Mom. I'm actually at my boyfriend's."

"You've never mentioned a boyfriend before."

"Yeah, I know, I've just been busy. He's, uh, he's in my class and he works for Annalise too. It's no big deal. Honestly. Don't tell Pop, he'll go ballistic."

Lexi's mother sounded interested. "Why don't you bring him over for dinner tonight?"

"Mom, _no_!" Lexi whined. "Come on, don't do this to me. We haven't been together that long, okay? Pop would take out his guns and start subtly threatening him, I don't need that right now. I'll come over for dinner. Alone."

"If you say so," Lexi's mother replied with a sigh. "Take care, darling."

"I will," Lexi promised. She hung up and tossed her phone on the bed. Asher was sitting in the living room with two mugs of coffee. Lexi smiled and grabbed one before settling into the sofa beside him. Asher lifted an arm and curled it around her. "You're warm," she mumbled as she snuggled into his side before lifting the coffee to her lips. "Oh God. Asher, this is disgusting."

"Thank you would be nice," he quipped, lifting his own cup to his lips. He winced. "I forgot to put in sugar."

"I don't even know how you survive, living here on your own." Lexi took his cup too and went into the kitchen to add sugar to them both. "I'm serious, Asher. You can't even make coffee. There is _nothing _in your fridge; do you even go grocery shopping?"

Asher raised an eyebrow defensively as she came back with the fixed mugs of coffee. "Of course I do. There's a grocery down the street. I go there when I run out of beer sometimes. Besides, I eat at home a couple times every week. One meal of my Mom's cooking and I don't have to eat for another 24 hours."

"That is _not _healthy," Lexi muttered. She sighed and flopped down on the sofa again. "My Mom heard your voice on the phone. It won't be long before she tells my Dad and they're going to want to meet you." She paused when he didn't react. "Am I freaking you out? I know it's really soon. I'll say no if you're not comfortable."

Asher shifted on the sofa. "No, I've just… never been asked to meet a girlfriend's parents before. Not since high school. And then it was just kind of a formality, you know?"

Lexi nodded. "Yeah, you know what, forget I said anything," she said quickly. He wasn't responding too well and the last thing she wanted was for Asher to feel obligated to meet her parents. Instead, Lexi drained the last of her coffee and set the cup down. "Well, I'm going to take a shower. You want to join me, hot stuff?"

"Is that even a question?" Asher asked with a grin. He put his mug down too, but his phone buzzed before he could get up. He glanced at it and groaned. "Fuck. New client. Annalise wants us there in an hour."

Lexi smirked. "Then we'll have to be quick, won't we?"

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Lexi felt numb as she listened to Ryan tell the tale of how his father had abused his mother. Growing up with a father as a police officer and with his colleagues coming over for dinner and telling stories of lives they'd saved, people they'd helped- Lexi had always felt they could do no wrong. But the idea that a police officer, a man charged with keeping people on the streets safe, could cause so much pain to his own family… that was difficult to take.

By the time Ryan had told his story, Lexi was holding back tears. She could see that Laurel was affected by the case too. Even Connor and Asher were watching in grim silence. None of them spoke as Ryan and his mother left.

"We're not just fighting a murder charge," Annalise explained firmly. "We're fighting the police. They're used politics and the media to fuel public outrage and turn Ryan, a boy who spent his entire life witnessing his mother's abuse, into a sociopath who hated his father. So how do we win this? Not based on evidence, but the emotions of the jury."

Lexi caught up to Connor as they all filed out of Keating's office. "Hey. Give me a ride?" she asked. She wanted to talk to him about Oliver. Lexi had replied to Connor's text quickly last night, but she hadn't had a chance to call him back. Asher made sure of that.

"Didn't you drive here?" Connor asked lightly.

"I came with Asher. It's okay, he won't mind," Lexi insisted. She followed Connor to his SUV before getting into the passenger side door. "Listen, I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you last night-"

"I got kicked out of my bed buddy's apartment, it's not the end of the world," Connor snapped angrily. When Lexi raised an eyebrow at him, he sighed. "It's not a big deal. I went home. Had a couple of drinks and I pitied myself. You were better off with your _boyfriend_, anyway."

"Can you not say the word boyfriend like that?"

"Like what?'

"Like it's repulsive," Lexi muttered. "I mean I get it, Oliver dumped you, but don't you think it was your own fault? I told you that your habit of sleeping with people to get information is going to backfire one day. I know you feel guilty. You admitted it to me when you were drunk."

Connor rolled his eyes. "I'm an emotional drunk. You know that. Don't exploit it."

"Are you going to try and fix things with Oliver?"

"I don't know. For now, I think I'll give him some space."

"You should do that."

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Lexi was sitting between Asher and Wes in the courtroom while Annalise Keating interviewed the jurors. Lexi watched intently, fidgeting in her seat every time a juror expressed their loyalty or discontent with the police force. Somehow, she found herself relating everything the jurors said back to her father.

"Would you stop that?" Asher whispered. Lexi was crossing and uncrossing her legs for the hundredth time. She shifted again and pulled the hem of her skirt down her thighs. She noticed Asher staring at her exposed legs.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I can't help it."

"Well, you're giving me a hard-on in the middle of a courtroom," he snapped. Lexi smirked as Asher subtly moved his left hand to rest on her leg. His fingers stroked her leg teasingly. Lexi found herself unable to concentrate as his hands gently moved higher and higher up her leg. She glanced at him and saw that he looked pleased with himself.

"You're making a scorecard?" Wes asked Laurel on Lexi's right. Lexi turned to see that Laurel had made little boxes in her notebook, one for each juror.

"We finally have client I don't hate," Laurel explained.

"Really? The guy who shot his Dad in the back?" muttered Asher, but Lexi shook her head frantically. The DA was trying to throw out the abuse claim. They all turned and watched as the DA claimed that Sharon could fabricate the abuse claim simply to save her son. She had never filed a report with the police and hence, the judge decided he could block both Ryan and Sharon from giving any testimony of the abuse.

"It's crazy," Lexi muttered as they exited the courtroom. Laurel looked distraught and had left alone. "I can't believe the judge did that, _after _we selected our jurors based on arguing abuse! Ryan's case is practically shot, now!"

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"In cases where emotion is currency, we have to cater our defence to the jury. Which means knowing the jury, learning to read reaction, body language," Bonnie explained as she handed out pictures of the jurors to them all. Lexi took hers silently. One was a young guy who looked to be in his late twenties, while another was a middle-aged woman with bobbed hair. "I'm assigning each of you, your own pet jurors to watch."

"Lumberjack?" Connor asked with a frown. He was holding up a picture. "I don't- I don't want this guy."

Asher grinned. "Oh, not your type? I'll take him if you give me sexy librarian!"

"How about the two hairy guys?" Bonnie snapped, handing Asher a picture. His smile dropped abruptly. "Enjoy."

"Can we track them outside of court too?" Laurel wanted to know. What was she so eager about? It seemed a bit over-the-top to follow the jurors around. Lexi frowned down at her pictures. She had better things to do than stalk these people around the city, for a case that was probably shot. She hadn't even had time to go visit her parents recently, and they lived a fifteen-minute drive away.

"Yes. But absolutely no contact. Jury tampering is illegal, don't get us thrown in jail," Bonnie replied.

Michaela was frowning down at her pictures too, and Lexi could see that she shared her incredulity. "This is all fun and everything, but what's our defence? We picked a jury based on arguing abuse," she complained. She didn't want to watch the jurors any more than Lexi did.

Wes piped up. "If Ryan was on drugs, we can argue diminished capacity!" His suggestions, as ever, were outrageously stupid and unhelpful. Lexi was tired and she was starting to feel resentful even towards the sweetest member of their group. She blinked a few times and shook her head. At least Wes was trying to help.

Annalise entered the room with them, having heard Wes' thoughtless idea. "So we can add drug addict to sociopathic cop killer? I don't think so. We need a Trojan horse to allow the abuse in. A back door."

Asher grinned again and Lexi knew that he was about to make a crude joke. She frowned as he gestured towards Connor. "Ooh. This guy knows how to use a back door," he chuckled, before grunting and making some sort of obscene movement with his pelvis. Connor simply raised an eyebrow and gave Lexi a long look, which seemed to read, _This guy is your boyfriend? Really, Lexi?_ Lexi quickly stared back down at the faces of her jurors.

"It's Ryan's blog," Annalise said sharply. "If we could get one of the prosecution's witnesses to mention it on the stand then everything he ever wrote can be allowed into evidence. Stay up all night. Take notes. Know the blog inside and out before tomorrow."

"There are like 800 entries!" Michaela cried.

Annalise didn't even turn to look at her. 'Then you better start reading."

Lexi sighed and reached for her bag to get her laptop out. It was going to be another long, sleepless night. She looked around at the others while her computer booted. Only Connor and Michaela seemed as annoyed as she did. "When I signed up for this, I did _not _think I would be staying up all night reading a teenage boy's badly-written blog entries," Lexi murmured.

Asher nudged her with his elbow and winked. "Look on the bright side. You have me for eye candy, huh?"

"Shoot me," Lexi muttered.

"Come on, don't be like that," Asher whispered, putting an arm around her and pressing his lips to her neck. When she didn't respond, he kissed her there again, letting his teeth graze against her skin. Lexi shuddered, but Michaela's voice made her pull away from him.

"Oh my _God. _It's bad enough watching you flirt, but can you _please _keep it in your pants while the rest of us are around?" Michaela demanded irritably. "I don't want to be here anymore than you guys."

Laurel looked up from her laptop with a frown. "Why is everyone so unenthusiastic about this? What we're doing could keep Ryan from jail. Can we not complain about it so much?"

Lexi's mouth dropped open as Ryan's blog came up on her screen and she looked at how much he had written. "Damn this. Even if we split it all up, we all have to go through more than a hundred entries each. That will take all night. Still enthusiastic, Laurel?"

"Yes," Laurel muttered, although she didn't sound so sure anymore.

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Despite the complaining and groaning, spending all night reading Ryan's blog had proved to be useful. When his teacher had brought up a talent show on the stand, Laurel could connect it to Ryan's version on the blog, thus enabling Annalise Keating to use her Trojan horse. The abuse was in, and as a result, their case was back on track.

"What are you doing this weekend?" Asher asked Lexi through a mouthful of chips. They were all siting in Annalise's living room again. The police were painting an excellent picture of Ryan's dad actually being a good husband. Lexi was curled up in the sofa against Asher's side, a novel in her lap. Every now and then, she stole a potato chip from him. "Lexi…"

"Hm?" she asked. She looked up and saw Asher blinking at her. "Oh. This weekend? Not much, if the case is over by then. Which it should be. Why?"

Asher lowered his voice, leaning in closer so the others couldn't hear. "I was thinking we should go somewhere. You and me. Let's face it, this case is a cockblocker. I want to make up for all the missed sex this week."

Lexi smirked as Asher's hand slipped down from her shoulder and squeezed her ass. She bit her lip, but none of the others were looking. She glanced up at him seductively. "What do you have in mind, handsome?"

"My family's got a membership at this club," Asher whispered. "It's about a two-hour drive from here. What do you say? We could leave Saturday and be back early Monday morning. It'll be worth it, I promise."

"Okay," Lexi replied, leaning up to kiss him. He pressed his lips to hers quickly and then grinned, digging back into the bag of chips. Lexi turned her gaze back to her book. It was a few pages later when she heard Asher hold up a picture of one of the jurors and smirk.

"Does anyone else think that sexy librarian's a lesbian?" he asked aloud. "I mean, she just stares at Annalise's boobs all the time."

Connor glanced up from his phone. "They are great boobs," he agreed. Lexi rolled her eyes. Being gay didn't stop Connor from making crude remarks about women's bodies. If anything, he got away with it easier _because _he was gay and nobody could really accuse him of being a pervert.

"Can we all focus?" Laurel demanded. She and Wes were the only ones actually working on Ryan's case. She sounded frustrated. "Please?"

Asher set down the picture of sexy librarian and raised an eyebrow at Laurel. "Okay, look. Your emotional scorecard is cute and pointless, like a dumb blonde. They need to vote on evidence," he replied.

"Yeah, and my study group needs its outline by 8 am," Michaela added with a smile. She was tapping away on her laptop with an unnatural sense of pride. Maybe it was because she was getting away with doing schoolwork while Annalise thought they were working on the case. Lexi could understand the emotion. She turned back to her novel before Asher snatched it out of her hands.

"What are you reading, anyway? You keep hiding the cover from me and squirming," Asher muttered. He flipped the book over to the cover page and read it aloud. "_The Flame of Passion. _What the- shit, is this erotica?" he demanded. Lexi flushed as he flipped through it. "Oh my god, it is. Are you kidding me, woman? You have a gorgeous, warm blooded male sitting right next to you and you get off by reading this pile of shit instead?"

Laurel glanced up from her work again, still looking irritated. "Well, maybe if some people could reserve their sexual urges for the bedroom, we'd get more work done."

Lexi snatched the book back from Asher, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not the only one. Connor's totally sexting someone right now, I guarantee it."

Connor glanced up from his phone. "Would everyone just shut up? I've got about six guys on my jock right now, I need to focus."

"You're sexting six guys right now?" Asher demanded. He looked shocked. "What the- are there apps like that for straight people?" Lexi shot him a look and he shrugged defensively as if to say _What? You read erotica. _She rolled her eyes as Michaela turned to Connor.

"What happened to the hacker anyway?' Michaela asked. Lexi winced as she realized Michaela was bringing up Oliver. That was a low blow. Then again, Connor _had _screwed her fiancée. "Did he finally get sick of you using him?"

"Aw, you think that we're friends?" Connor asked, leaning back in his seat casually. Lexi could see his defences going up. "That we'll chat about our boy problems?"

"The only person with boy problems here is you," Michaela replied proudly.

"Are you sure Aiden doesn't have any?" Lexi piped up with a smirk. "Boy problems, that is."

Michaela rolled her eyes. "At least my fiancée doesn't leave me so unsatisfied that I have to resort to reading porn while he's sitting right beside me. I don't get it. You say it's not the money and it's clearly not the sex. So what _is _it with you two?"

It took Asher a few seconds to react. "Whoa, hey, wait, I satisfy her perfectly fine!" he cried defensively. He turned sharply to face Lexi. "Come on, Lexi, tell her!"

"This is just painful," Laurel muttered as she set her files down and walked out of the room quickly. Lexi rolled her eyes. What was Laurel's problem anyway? She'd started off thinking Michaela was the biggest bitch, but now Laurel was starting to get on Lexi's nerves too. She ignored Asher's insistent prodding and turned back to her book.

Connor's phone beeped. "Oh my god," he cried. He looked around at everyone with a smirk. "Lumberjack just messaged me."

"That's what you've been doing on your gay sex app?" Asher asked. He sounded almost disappointed.

Connor nodded. "I've been stalking him on humpr, waiting for him to out himself. And he finally bit."

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"Yeah, it was awful," Lexi muttered into the phone as she struggled to pull her jeans up with one hand. After Connor had exposed Lumberjack, the trial seemed to be going well. It wasn't until somebody apparently leaked the jurors information about jury nullification that the whole thing was declared a mistrial. The DA dropped most of the charges against Ryan and they all went home happy. Personally, Lexi suspected either Laurel or Wes- but she couldn't be sure so she kept her mouth shut. Whoever it was had given Ryan another chance at life.

"It's terrible," Lexi's father agreed over the phone. He sounded upset. "I called up Tom and he tells me he knew the man. Said he never suspected he could be abusing his family; he always seemed perfectly normal."

"I guess you never really know somebody," Lexi muttered, finally buttoning up her jeans. She stuck her phone between her ear and shoulder. "Pop, I'm getting another call. I'll be there in half an hour, okay? See you then."

Her father agreed and hung up, leaving Lexi to switch calls. She heard Asher's voice greet her over the phone and smiled. Michaela had caught him tearing up after the mistrial was declared, although he refused to admit it. Lexi thought it was adorably sweet.

"You coming over tonight?" he asked eagerly. "We can celebrate."

"Can't," Lexi replied. "I have dinner with my parents. I've been putting them off for days."

There was a long pause. "Can I come?"

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	6. Freakin' Whack-a-Mole

**Episode 6**

Lexi followed Connor into class the next morning. She was about to go straight to their usual seats when Connor nudged her. "What?"

"Wes' seat is empty," he said simply. They both turned to look at the seat where Wes usually sat, only to find the trophy sitting on his desk. Lexi blinked a few times. She then tore her gaze away from it and moved to her own desk, plopping her bag down. "What do you think that's about?" Connor muttered.

Lexi shrugged. "I don't know. The quiet ones are always the ones with the most secrets, aren't they?"

Annalise Keating entered the class as she usually did, storming in and setting her bag down on her table. "Take your seats, we have a lot to get through today. Our lesson – Habeas Corpus. Which translates into 'produce the body'. Who can tell us how that applies to the case of Fay v. Noia?" As Annalise asked the question, she turned around to face the class for the first time and noticed the trophy sitting on Wes' desk. Numerous hands shot up in the air, but Annalise was staring into the distance.

"What is wrong with her?" Lexi whispered to Connor, both of them holding their hands up in the air hesitantly. "She's staring at the trophy."

From the other side of the aisle, Asher was whispering, not-so-quietly, "Someone's having a brain fart." Lexi turned and made eye contact with him. Asher winked at her and Lexi smiled back. From beside her, Connor was making faces at them both.

"Could you not be so immature?" Lexi snapped at him.

"Okay, _I'm _immature?" Connor demanded. "He just used the words brain fart. Or did your lovesick head not hear that? Besides, the way you eye-fuck each other is disturbing."

"I looked at him from across a room, we're hardly subjecting you to any extreme PDA."

"It's not you, it's him," Connor replied simply, but Michaela had already stood up and begun to answer Annalise's question. Lexi dropped her hand from the air and lifted her pen to take notes as Bonnie walked into the room. She whispered something to Annalise, and there was a sudden change in atmosphere. Annalise turned to face the class.

"Something's come up," she said loudly. "Class is dismissed. Keating six, stick around."

Lexi exchanged looks with Connor as the rest of the class filed out quickly. She moved down to the front of the class, where Laurel, Michaela and Asher were gathering.

"Looks like the Keating six might be the Keating five," Connor mused, his eyes landing on the trophy. Lexi rolled her eyes. She knew he was wondering if the trophy was now up for grabs, he just didn't want to say it.

"Maybe Wes is sick," Laurel said, concerned.

Michaela smiled. "I bet the pressure finally got to him and he dropped out."

Asher grinned as he slid into the seat beside Lexi. His arm went around the chair behind her and landed on her shoulder. Lexi shifted uncomfortably. She knew Connor was probably staring and she was sick of him always making faces whenever Asher said or did something. But Asher didn't even notice. "That means the trophy's in play,"

"God, enough with the stupid trophy!" Laurel cried.

"Bitch, please. You want it as much as the rest of us," Lexi pointed out. She was getting tired of Laurel's attitude too. To be honest, the only person in their group that had yet to rile Lexi up was Wes, and now he was probably quitting. Great.

Annalise got off the phone and turned to look at them sharply. "We have a new case."

"Okay, but first things first," Asher insisted. "Is the trophy in play?"

"To those of you smart enough to know when to shut up."

Lexi bit her lip to hold back a smile and listened intently as Annalise Keating told the story of David Allen.

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Lexi frowned down at the sheets in their hands. It was hard to keep herself calm. The idea that a man's life was in their hands terrified her. What if they couldn't save him? She glanced around and saw that everyone else seemed focused. This one was huge, they could all feel it.

"That's when I saw Mr. Allen run out of the apartment," Michaela read out from one of the witnesses' statements. They were taking turns reading out the transcripts of the trial. "He had a look of terror in his eyes, like he had just done something awful. I froze as soon as I saw him, scared. That's when I saw the .38 in his hands." She paused and frowned. "That's your line, Connor."

Connor looked up. "Oh, sorry. Uh, Objection, your honour, did the witness at the time actually know the calibre of the weapon, said defence attorney George Gabler," he read out.

Laurel picked up her sheet for her line. "Sustained, said Judge Mill- Wait. Millstone?"

Lexi frowned and turned to look at Asher, who seemed unimpressed. He made a face at Laurel. "Haa, very funny."

"I'm not kidding," Laurel insisted. "Your Dad's William Millstone, right?" Asher frowned and closed his file, walking over to Laurel.

"Let me see that," he muttered. He took the sheet from Laurel and confirmed that what she was saying was true. "What the-" he glanced up at Bonnie, who was near the other side of the room. "Did you know about this?"

"No idea," she replied.

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Lexi grunted as she lugged a huge box of files across the floor of Annalise's living room. David Allen had been on death row for god-knows-how-many years, which meant his files were enough to fill a house. And damn, were they heavy. When she straightened up, her back was sore.

"This is nice," she muttered loudly. "Leave all the heavy lifting to the tired, out-of-shape girl, let's watch her put her back out." Lexi turned around and looked pointedly at Connor. He was sitting in an armchair with his feet up. "Hello? I'm all for feminism, but a little manpower would be appreciated here."

Connor glanced up briefly from what he was reading. "I offered you help when we were bringing it in, you said no. You're gonna dig your own grave, you gotta lie in it." Lexi shot him a dark glare and turned back to lift the box when a pair of arms reached around her and grabbed it. She felt Asher press against her backside and whisper in her ear.

"You're in great shape, baby, I wouldn't worry about it," he kissed her under her ear and pressed hard enough against her that she could feel his erection. She grinned. Asher picked up the box and set it on the table before returning to her seat. "There you go." He smiled at her, before he saw Connor's expression. "What?"

"You guys were literally dry-humping right there!" Connor cried. "That has got to be the most disgusting thing I've ever seen, can you just _not_?"

"How about you keep your eyes on your own work, you lazy pig?" Lexi snapped back. She ignored Connor and sat down next to Asher, pulling the first file out of the box. He scooted closer to her and lowered his voice.

"Wow. Someone's being bitchy. What's his problem?" Asher asked.

"Nothing. He's a bitter ass because the only guy he's ever genuinely liked kicked him out, and now it hurts him to see other people even remotely happy," Lexi muttered. She leaned back against the sofa and opened the file. "I have bigger things to think about. Speaking of which, did you really have no idea that your Dad was the judge on this case?"

Asher's face dropped slightly, but he was prevented answering by Annalise entering the room. Wes was trailing behind her. "I'd like Mr. Gibbins brought up to speed," Annalise announced. "_Now." _

Lexi glanced at him just as Asher quickly got up from his seat and followed Annalise to her office door. "Professor Keating, I-I know you're busy. I just wanted to ask – Did you know my father presided over the original David Allen trial?"

Annalise gave him a look before closing the door in his face.

Asher turned back and looked at Lexi with a 'what-the-fuck-was-that?' expression. Lexi shrugged in response. This whole thing with his Dad presiding over the case seemed to be bothering him. She gestured for Asher to sit back down and slipped her hand into his.

"So Wes, you're not contagious, are you?" Michaela teased.

"That depends," mused Connor. "Is lying contagious?"

"Ignore them," Laurel replied, shooting both of them smug looks. "They're just mad because they know that if _they_ ever missed class, Annalise would not care."

Wes shrugged uncomfortably. "So, what do I need to know about this case?"

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"My neck hurts," Lexi muttered, rubbing her neck absently. Wes and Laurel had gotten to go meet the defence attorney, George Gabler, and Michaela and Laurel had gone to have a word with the state's attorney in the case. Even Asher had gotten to go out with Bonnie to meet a witness, but Annalise had kept Lexi indoors with the files all day.

"Found anything useful?" Asher asked her. He was leaning against the mantle a few feet away and he bent down to her level. "Considering you've been indoors all day…"

"Shut up," Lexi muttered. "This is so stressful. I mean, I'm sick and tired of going through this stuff but I feel guilty for complaining because a man's life hangs in the balance, and if I manage to find something that can stop-"

"Whoa, chill," Asher said. "If you find something, you find something, otherwise you don't. His life won't be on you, it'll be on the people who sentenced him, and-" he stopped suddenly, seeming to realize that it was his own father who had passed the sentence. Lexi bit her lip. She didn't know what to say. He hadn't really said much about his father being the judge in the David Allen trial, but he was clearly thinking about it.

"Asher-"

He cut her off sharply. "Besides. We're still heading to the country club this weekend. Trust me babe, I'll get you to relax," he whispered, in a slightly failed attempt to be seductive. He had leaned closer to her ear and kissed her cheek, but Lexi could feel how forced it was. She shifted away slightly.

"Yeah, that's great. But Asher, if you want-"

They were cut off by Connor and Michaela returning from the state's attorney's office. Lexi straightened up and moved away from Asher so nobody could start whining about their PDA again. Annalise was called and Michaela began to explain what had happened.

"Travers won't admit to any of this on record, but, apparently he was tipped to there being perjured testimony on the David Allen case," Michaela began slowly. "He didn't know who it was, but he sent word to Judge Millstone to look into it, and…" she trailed off.

Lexi turned to Asher and saw that he had moved away from her and was leaning against the mantle again, eyes wide. His mouth was slightly open as he waited for Michaela to finish.

"And?" Annalise demanded.

Michaela opened her mouth, but she couldn't seem to finish her sentence. Lexi watched with an increasingly sick feeling in her stomach as she and Connor exchanged looks. "And apparently Judge Millstone did nothing about it," Connor finished bluntly to break the awkward silence.

"What?" Asher demanded. He had one hand in his pocket and was trying to look cool, but Lexi could see how tensed he really was. "Okay, this Travers guy is clearly a whack job."

"Go on Miss Pratt," Annalise said firmly. Asher's hand stopped mid-air and he looked stunned.

"Travers was reassigned to a different case by the DA. He said he thought there was pressure to convict, maybe even motivated by race," Michaela finished.

Asher stepped away from the mantle. He was starting to look angry and Lexi tensed. She could see this getting ugly. Why was Annalise such a bitch? Did she have to get Michaela to say all this in front of Asher? "Okay, seriously, my father isn't a sleaze!" Asher cried. "He was not a part of some _racist s_cheme."

"Really?" Laurel asked, making Lexi clench her fists to resist from slapping her. "Where is it you summer again?"

"It's not just white people who go to Kennebunkport!" Asher insisted, before turning to Annalise. He was clearly making an effort to calm down and he forced a smile on his face. "My father wrote the book on judicial conduct. Literally. He's a highly respected federal judge. You don't get to where he's gotten by burying evidence of perjury. Believe me, my Dad wouldn't do this," he insisted.

"Looks like we have a new target," Annalise said calmly. She was giving Asher a hard look. "Judge William Millstone. You wouldn't be the first person in the world disappointed by your father."

There was a short silence as Asher's face turned furious. He glared at Annalise for a few brief seconds before heavily throwing the file in his hand down on the sofa and turning to grab his jacket. He stormed out, leaving the others staring after him.

"Shit," Lexi muttered. She quickly pushed her files aside too and made to follow him, but she stopped abruptly when she heard Annalise call after her.

"Sit down, Miss Grey. We have work to do."

Lexi shot Annalise Keating a dark glare before returning to her seat. Storming out after Asher wouldn't help. She needed to find some other way to fix this.

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Asher wouldn't answer his phone. Lexi had left Keating's early, unable to stand the tension and the stress that hung in the atmosphere of the house. Besides, she'd been working all day. She deserved a break. She stepped off Keating's front porch and dialled Asher for the tenth time that day.

"Hello?" his voice said calmly.

"Asher, what the fuck? I've called you so many times, why haven't you been answering? You had me worried after you stormed out on Keating like that!" Lexi cried. She sighed and stopped in front of her car. "She wouldn't let me follow you."

Asher sighed on the other side of the phone. "I'm fine. You don't need to worry."

"Don't you dare shut me out, Millstone."

"I'm not shutting you out," Asher snapped. "I was just pissed off at that bitch, okay?"

Lexi frowned. She didn't believe him. She could imagine how she would feel if someone accused her father of cheating and then declared that they would target him to expose his secrets. Of course he didn't want to talk. She took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm sorry, I… I'm meeting Grace and a few friends for drinks tonight. Why don't you come? It'll help you relax."

"I'm not really in the mood to go out."

"Okay, then I'll get a bottle of wine and we can order takeout or something, I can even-"

"Not tonight, Lexi," Asher muttered. "I have something to do."

Lexi sighed. "Asher, I'm nobody to tell you what to do, especially regarding your Dad. But I really don't think you should confront him when you're this angry. I know Keating's being a bitch, she's always like that-"

Asher cut her off. "Just go home, okay? I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Come _on_, don't-"

He hung up before she could say anything more.

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When Asher entered his apartment that evening after leaving his father's house, he noticed that the lights were on in the living room. He stopped when he saw Lexi curled up on the sofa, her head on the pillow and her eyes closed. As he dropped his bag in an armchair, her eyes fluttered open.

"You're back," Lexi said, quickly sitting up. She frowned when she saw the look on Asher's face. His face was set tight and he frowned down at her, looking exasperated. She could tell that he was holding in a lot of emotion. "Asher? What happened?"

"I told you to go home," he muttered. He sat down in an armchair and ran a hand over his face. He let out a frustrated sigh. "What if I'd decided to spend the night at my parents'? It would be nice if you would just listen to me sometimes."

"Okay," Lexi muttered slowly. She hated that he didn't want to talk to her, but now was not a time to push him. Clearly he'd just confronted his father. She picked up her bag and stood up. Lexi had almost made it to the door when Asher's voice stopped her.

"He did it," Asher said quietly. He was looking at the floor, his fists clenched tightly. "He's the reason that David Allen is about to die. My father sentenced an innocent man in exchange for a federal appointment."

Lexi sighed and set her bag on the floor before moving over to him. She sat on the arm of his chair, and let him nuzzle his head into her neck. Her fingers moved through his hair and she could feel him trembling slightly. His shaky breath tickled the skin at her collar. "Asher, nobody's perfect. We all make mistakes," she whispered.

"My _Dad _was perfect," he muttered. "At least, as a judge he was. He might not have been there for me as a father all the time, but I always told myself that was because he was so amazing at what he did. I wanted to _be _him." Asher shook his head, his arms moving around Lexi's waist and taking comfort in her closeness. "I've been admiring my father and attending fancy parties every day of my life while a man rots in jail, fearing the day they will execute him."

Lexi sighed and pulled his head away from her neck so that she could look down at him. One of her hands moved from Asher's hair to his cheek. "Asher, look at me. You are better than him. You're better than your father."

Asher closed his eyes, leaning into the comfort of her hand. "I feel like he cheated me. And now Annalise is after him. I don't even know what to do." Asher looked up at her, his eyes filled with anger and fear. "I can't let David Allen die because my father wanted a promotion. But I can't see him go down either."

"Then don't," Lexi whispered. She leaned down and pressed her forehead to his. His grip around her waist tightened and Asher could feel Lexi's thumb tracing his face. "Neither of these things have to happen. Not if you can find a way around it."

"Annalise is set on targeting my Dad," Asher replied. "And I can't stop her unless I want David Allen die. I'm not having that on my hands."

"Then we find a way to get David off without throwing your Dad under the bus." Lexi looked down at him, her eyes determined. "Asher, the others might think you're an idiot, but we both know that's not true. You're a grown man. Show Annalise that she can't mess with your family."

Asher took a deep breath and nodded.

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"We still don't know who falsely testified in David Allen's trial, but we do know it was to satisfy this man," Annalise explained as Bonnie handed them a large photo. "Art Trucco is a state senator who, for reasons we need to find out, needed David Allen to go down for this murder. So much so that he convinced someone to lie on the stand. If we can find out who this was, we stand a good chance of seeing his conviction overturned. We have 12 hours till court. Let's make David proud."

"This isn't my-" Michaela muttered, placing a pencil in her mouth. "This isn't mine. Who's on Trucco's taxes?" she called out.

Lexi didn't even glance up from her desperate searching of the table. "Connor's on taxes," she told Michaela curtly. "Damn it, did anyone see the yellow file that was right here? It had all the documentation of his personal assets…. Laurel! Did you take it?"

Wes, who was on the phone, desperately held up a hand, telling her to keep silent. Lexi sighed and marched over to Laurel, who had taken the file accidentally and snatched it from her. She was marching back to her seat when she ran into Asher, who was muttering something about how much teachers were paid. "Whoa," Asher cried, holding an arm out to stabilize Lexi while she caught the file. "Nice save."

"Thank you," she replied with a smile, ensuring the papers were still in order. She grabbed his arm and lowered her voice. "Hey. I don't know exactly what you did in there with Keating, but… It worked. Well done."

"I'm da man," Asher agreed, leaning down to kiss her quickly on the lips. Lexi giggled as his hand snaked around her waist and slapped her quickly on the ass before walking away. Luckily, Michaela had been too busy scribbling down phone numbers to notice.

Pots and pots of coffee were made and ideas rolled around the room. Lexi hardly noticed the time as they all worked into the night. Her neck ached and her eyes drooped but sleep would come later. These few hours could save David Allen's life.

"Okay, that's it. My skills are effectively being wasted on coffee duty, somebody else is making the next pot," Lexi declared, as she handed around mugs of coffee. She gave one to Connor and then shook Wes awake. "Get up, lazy. Nap time's over."

Wes groaned and opened his eyes as Lexi set his coffee down on the table beside him. He noticed Connor staring at him and sighed before closing his eyes again. "What do you want?" Wes asked Connor. He sounded grumpy and he'd been that way since Annalise brought him back. His usually sweet and complacent demeanour had disappeared. Maybe it was the lack of sleep.

"The real," Connor said to Wes simply. He lifted his coffee mug to his lips with a smug smile. "About you and Rebecca. You tapping that ass or what?"

_Oh God. Was this really the right time? _Lexi shot Connor an irritated look as she clutched her hot mug of coffee. "Can we chit chat about sex lives later? A man is about to die, Connor."

Laurel turned around from her computer. "I agree. Besides, it's none of your business."

Wes groaned and turned over in the sofa, ignoring the cup of coffee Lexi had set down beside him. "She's right, it's not," he replied, not even noticing the dirty look Lexi was giving him because of the wasted cup of coffee she'd made. It would go cold and he wouldn't even drink it. _See if I ever do anything for him again. _

"Evasive. Interesting," Michaela muttered, reaching for a new file. Lexi raised an eyebrow. She didn't particularly enjoy the timing of the investigation, but she was curious about what Wes was hiding behind that puppy-dog face too. She didn't care about his sex life, but what was going on with him and Annalise?

"You guys, stop," Laurel insisted.

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Wes isn't a kid, Laurel," she pointed out. "If he has a problem with what people are saying, he can defend himself."

"And it must be hot," Connor mused. "Sleeping with a murderer."

There was a pause as Asher landed back on earth from whatever planet he'd been on. "Wait, you're screwing our client?" Lexi bit her lip. His obliviousness was both adorable and disturbing. One would think a future lawyer would be more observant.

"No," Wes replied, his tone rising a little. He was on edge. "And the guy with the corrupt dad doesn't get to say crap to me right now!"

Asher froze and stared at Wes, closing the file in his hands. "Take that back."

"Why should he?" Laurel demanded. "Your Dad sent a guy to death row for no reason."

"Okay, wow, this is _great," _Lexi snapped. She was sick and tired of people targeting Asher. Could they not see how much shit he was going through right now? "Particularly for you, Laurel. Are we suddenly judging people based on their families now? You're Italian, isn't your Dad a mob boss or something?" Lexi snapped.

Laurel raised an eyebrow. "That was terrible."

"But honestly, I'm curious," Michaela began thoughtfully, looking at Asher. "How does it feel knowing that your charmed existence came at the expense of another man's life?"

Lexi's grip on her coffee cup tightened as she noticed Connor about to speak. She set her cup down sharply and glared at him. Laurel and Michaela's snarky comments were one thing, but she refused to let Connor rile up Asher. She knew what he would say. "Connor Walsh, there is a very thin line right now and if you even think about saying what y-"

Connor ignored her and smirked. "I'm sure it's not the first time the Kennebunkport Millstones have profited off other people's misfortunes."

"Congratulations guys," Lexi snapped, turning to face Laurel, Michaela, Wes and Connor. I mean they weren't exactly _friends, _but… "Looks like you've all managed to reach a new low today. I can't even-"

Lexi was cut off by a loud crashing noise. Her hands flew to her mouth as she realized Asher had tried to charge at Connor and slipped on one of the many boxes lying around, resulting in his face-planting on the floor. She hurried to help him, vaguely hearing Connor sound pleased with himself.

"Fuck off, Connor," Lexi told him sharply before kneeling on the floor beside Asher. "Asher, are you okay? How did you-"

"What the hell is going on here?" Annalise Keating was standing at the door, furious. "Man's life hangs in the balance and this is how you spend your time? Get off the floor, Miss Gray and Mr. Millstone, _now." _

Lexi flushed red and hurriedly got to her feet but Asher didn't move. Instead, he picked up a sheet of paper and rolled over so he could hold it in front of his face. "Wait," he groaned. "What is this?"

Michaela raised an eyebrow. "It's mine, it's from Trucco's real estate group."

"I've seen this logo before," Asher insisted as he stumbled to his feet, not even noticing the hand Lexi had extended towards him to help him up. "In Linda Morelli's parking garage." His eyes widened as he turned to look at all of them. "People. The key eyewitness lives in a building owned by Senator Trucco!"

"So… it's the teacher."

"Always the one you least expect," Annalise agreed.

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They were all tense the next day. The next few hours determined David Allen's life and Lexi couldn't stop fidgeting in the courtroom. It was a miracle that Annalise Keating managed to get Senator Trucco subpoenaed and brought into the court. She sat him on the stand, and, in classic Keating style, awed the entire courtroom. Lexi could only stare and wonder what it was like to be her. To have to power to command the attention of an entire room with just words.

"Miss Keating, we are beyond dismayed by the conduct you've exhibited here today," the judge began. Lexi's heart sank. That did not sound good. She glanced to the side and noticed that both Connor and Laurel were sitting frozen in their seats. Lexi was squeezing Asher's fingers tightly and he was returning the death grip. The judge continued, "You've operated with blatant disrespect for this court and it's protocols and your argument, when isolated from all the bluster, seems to consist entirely of speculation."

"I don't like where this is going," Michaela whispered. Lexi turned to glance at her and saw the worry in her eyes. None of them wanted David Allen to die. They'd put in too much effort to prove his innocence and gotten too far to let him slip away now. Lexi exchanged a sympathetic smile with Michaela before turning her attention back to the judge.

"Now, Mr. Allen. We have no choice but to vacate the judgement, conviction and sentence of death and prohibit a re-trial. You're a free man."

An audible gasp escaped Lexi's mouth as she saw the tears in David Allen's eyes. She wondered if she would ever again see the face of a man who had been given a chance to live after being condemned to die. He pursed his lips and Lexi felt warm tears slide down her own cheeks. They'd done it. Lexi's throat closed up as she watched David run up to his family and hug them. They were all half sobbing and half laughing. For a moment, she was reminded of her own parents and how she'd been putting off seeing them again. There was a painful tug in her stomach as she realized how much she missed them.

The tight grip on her hand released and Lexi turned to see Asher pursing his lips, his eyes red as he held back his own tears. She forced a smile at him. "You did it," she whispered. "Asher, we got him off because of you."

Asher turned to look at her. He'd folded his arms across his chest. He opened his mouth to speak but he had to stop and swallow before he could get the words out. "Yeah, well. My Dad was the one who sentenced him, so…"

"Maybe. But you got him acquitted." Lexi reached over to take his hand again and then quickly kissed him. She could feel his lips trembling but when she pressed hers against them tightly, he calmed down a little. Lexi didn't even care if Michaela or Connor were shooting them dirty looks. "I'm proud of you."

Asher gave her a tight smile as they all filed out of the courtroom. Lexi glanced back once more at David Allen and his embracing family before she finally slipped out. Connor walked up beside her. "That was a nice moment between you and loverboy there. You do know David's suffered years and years in prison because of his Dad?" he asked.

Lexi felt a sudden anger bubble up inside of her. Connor was always annoying but recently, he'd been pushing his limits. Did he have to ruin a happy moment? She whirled around to face him. "You know what, Connor? I'm _done _with this. If you don't like Asher or me being with him, then leave both of us alone. I don't deal with your sorry cheating ass and your drunk break-downs to have to put up with this too."

Connor raised an eyebrow. "It was just an observation, you don't-"

"No. I'm done with this. I don't have the energy for you anymore. Just fuck off and leave me alone."

Connor scoffed. "You'll regret this. You think _I'm_ the cheater? Your little boyfriend grew up with a man who was ready to kill to get a promotion. One day something better will come along and he'll give you up for it."

"Don't predict his actions based on what you would do in the same situation," Lexi retorted. "You would have given Oliver up for a peanut. Just because you're not capable of caring doesn't mean none of us are."

"Don't talk about Oliver."

"Don't talk about Asher, then."

There was a long pause before Lexi turned around and walked away from him. Part of her was hurt that Connor was behaving that way, but he needed this. He'd been unbearable ever since she'd started dating Asher and Lexi couldn't deal with his bitterness anymore. It was just too much.

"What was that?" Asher asked as Lexi reached him. "What were you guys yelling about?"

"Nothing," Lexi muttered. She reached for the car door and opened it. "Let's go back to my place and celebrate. I'm sure Grace is in class, we can have the place to ourselves."

Asher grinned. "Hell yeah."

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"I am going to be _so _hung over tomorrow," Lexi giggled as Asher tried to kiss her neck sloppily. They were both reasonably tipsy, considering that Lexi had stolen her roommate's stash of alcohol. Grace was staying at her sister's, though, so for the first time, Lexi had invited Asher over to her place. He seemed to find the clean apartment almost disturbing. "Asher! Stop it. I want more alcohol, sex later."

Asher pulled away from Lexi and grinned. "As you wish, my lady." He reached over and poured her another shot before stopping at a rather ugly figurine that was sitting on a shelf next to some books. It was a dull green in colour and had an overdone red smile, making it look like a cross-over between the Joker and the Hulk. "The fuck is that thing? It keeps staring at me."

Lexi looked over at it and laughed. "What, the little doll? Grace's niece made that for her. She's five. I keep telling her to throw it out but it's got sentimental value, apparently?"

Asher grunted. "Well, it keeps staring at me. Makes it a little hard to get into the mood if you know what I mean?" He ducked his head again and kissed her neck, this time wrapping his arms around her waist. "Screw the alcohol, let's go to your bedroom. Babe, come on, we haven't spent the night together since David's trial started."

Lexi kissed Asher back as his lips danced with hers lustfully, but she put her hands on both sides of his face and pushed him away. "Well, genius, you shouldn't have ordered pizza, then. I'd rather not be in the throes of passion when the doorbell rings. Besides, what happened to spending the weekend at some country club of yours? You were so excited about it, I figured you would want to wait to have crazy sex till then."

Asher shifted away from her, seeming to sober up a bit. "Well, I got kicked out of the house. I can hardly use my dad's club membership, can I?"

Lexi sat up. "What? Asher, you didn't tell me he kicked you out."

"Yeah, well. He did."

There was an awkward silence. Lexi's brain was too confused with alcohol to know how to respond and she didn't want to risk upsetting him. Instead, she searched for a way to change the topic. Her eyes landed on the ugly figurine again and she stared at it. "Connor hates that figurine too. He spent the night in the sofa once and he claimed it was trying to kill him."

Asher raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. He spend nights here often?"

"He's _gay. _And he's my friend, don't be an ass."

"You were arguing today," Asher pointed out. "In fact, I haven't even seen you talking to him in a long time. Unless you're arguing. Funny, because you guys seemed really tight when I first met you."

Lexi groaned. "Oh god. I can't talk about Connor right now. I'll break something. Pour me another shot. He's just a fucking hypocrite. He cheated on Oliver with that Pax guy from Trudeau's office and got dumped. It's not even the first time he's done this, I'm cool with it. But he keeps saying that you'll do something similar to me and that's what gets to me. He knows nothing about you."

Asher raised an eyebrow. "So your bff doesn't like me. Big deal."

"It is a big deal," Lexi muttered. She took the shot Asher offered her and swallowed it. "He's like… he's like my annoying older brother. Well, probably not exactly, considering it would be pretty weird to have like, vivid erotic fantasies about your brother, but-"

"Wait, _what_?" Asher demanded. He blinked at her through unfocused eyes. "Did you just say erotic fantasies? With the gay guy who uses too much hair gel? Are you kidding?"

Lexi flushed red as she realized what she'd said. "Oh god. I'm drunk. Ignore me, I don't know what I'm saying-"

"No, I want to hear this. Have you seriously had erotic fantasies about Connor Walsh?" Asher demanded. He sounded both intrigued and disgusted at the same time. He raised an eyebrow at the humiliated blush on Lexi's face. "Oh god, you have. Shiiiit."

"Like you haven't imagine fucking your hot female friends," Lexi snapped angrily. She sighed and ran a hand over her face. "It was one time. I was seventeen. My friend in high school came over and she saw a picture of me and Connor. And when I told her he was gay, she said that was even better because he was into other guys and I could have what she called 'my kind of threesome' with him and someone else."

Asher made a face. "Oh god."

"Yeah. And I guess it was a little too much because I later had a dream about me, Connor and a faceless guy having a threesome. Like, a really, really vivid… never mind. I couldn't look Connor in the eye for months after that. Luckily he was away at boarding school a lot so I didn't have to."

Asher shook his head and downed another shot. "That is so gross, but I'm jealous now and disturbingly turned on." He leaned forward and kissed her hard, both their tongues tasting sharply of alcohol. Lexi giggled as she kissed him back, Asher pulling her legs sharply out from underneath her and wrapping them around his waist. Once her limbs were securely around him, he placed his hands on her ass and lifted her up, both of them stumbling to the bedroom. Lexi giggled as he dropped her on the bed.

"Did you really just get hot at the thought of me having a threesome with Connor?" she demanded as Asher clambered on top of her.

"Shut up," he mumbled into her mouth as his hands reached for her clothes. Lexi reached up to run her fingers through his hair but he pinned her arms down on the bed sharply. She gasped as his teeth bit down on her neck.

"Asher, the pizza guy!"

"Fuck him."

"Are you sure you want me to do that?" Lexi teased.

Asher groaned. "Stop _talking._"

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**A/N – Thanks for the reviews, guys! I'm loving the new episodes, aren't they great? This new tension in the group is amazing although I'm disappointed that Asher seems to be left out of it a lot.**

**Do review! Thanks so much for reading!**


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